When Desperation Meets Isolation
by cannibalisticReaper
Summary: When his life goes to hell in Michigan, Sollux Captor and his family move to Georgia at the beginning of summer to start over. Once there, he encounters a lonely boy who almost has as much issues as himself! With this new annoyance, will Sollux be able to enjoy his new home? Or will his summer of isolation be ruined? RATING WILL REMAIN T! R&R? Crotuna and Erisol!
1. Mechaniical Deathtrap2

The oversized aircraft sails through the crisp night air, effortlessly avoiding any turbulence it may run into. Inside the metal death trap, a serene atmosphere has taken over and draped atop the passengers like a blanket. Many of the people aboard were either blissfully sleeping or gazing out their windows dreamily whilst listening to music. A small TV at the front of the economy class section is playing King Kong for the second time since departure, but nobody cares all that much: you know you don't.

You're content with combing your boney fingers through your older brother's fluffy brown hair while you stare out the window. He has a habit of resting his head on your shoulder while he naps, occasionally letting out little squeals in his sleep. Normally, you detest this sort of invasion of your personal space, but you can't really say no to the little guy. He may have been born two years before you, but you were obviously the more mature sibling, not to mention he wasn't exactly the brightest of the bunch.

About a year ago, Mituna had gotten in a car accident. His best friend, Kurloz, had been driving and had the right away, so he hadn't even thought to slow down. Needless to say, another vehicle whose owner hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention crashed into Kurloz's, sending him and Mituna into a ditch off the road. Somehow the car had flipped over, angled so that the passenger side literally dug into the fresh soil, and Mituna received the worst of the injuries.

Kurloz had bit his tongue clean off because his teeth had been settled atop the appendage when his head hit the roof, permanently dooming any speech he may have attempted. Although being unable to speak was pretty intense, the damage done to Mituna was much worse. After Kurloz had carried him 5 miles to the nearest hospital, Mituna had been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and appeared to have lost all memory of the crash even happening. Doctors claimed this was his mind rejecting the idea of being damaged, and that he may never even be aware of his disability.

You push the memory to the back of your mind and focus on the little puff of white on the other side of the glass. You envy the cloud, mocking you as it enjoys the refreshing breeze outside while you're stuck in this stuffy airplane for another half hour. Beside you, Mituna whines cutely and squirms against your body. You look over at his dozing form and smile warmly, always finding him adorable when he sleeps. You wonder if you look even half as innocent when you sleep, but you quickly abandon that thought when you remember who you are.

You are SOLLUX CAPTOR, a bi-polar nerd with a lisp and an attitude, and there is no way you could possibly look anything like that when you slip into unconsciousness. You probably snore or something unappealing like that, and suddenly your mellow has been harshed. Perhaps you should succumb to peer pressure and just listen to music?

Ya, that sounds about right. Not like you have anything better to do, and catching some Z's is definitely out of the question. These flying pieces of junk terrify you, not that you'd ever admit it to anyone, and there was no way in hell you would be sleeping. If this thing went down, you'd need to be awake and alert so you'd all manage to live. It'd be tough saving Mituna and Dad as well as yourself, but you'd figure it out somehow. Besides, everyone keeps telling you you're a genius, so maybe that would come in handy for the first time in your life. Although, being smart is also the reason you're on this plane in the first place, so it pretty much contradicts itself. Go figure.

Mituna, Dad, and you were moving from Michigan to Georgia so you could all start over. After your parents had divorced, things had been really rough on the three of you. Admittedly, they weren't ideal to begin with either. You had always been bullied because of your disorder, lisp, and overall nerdiness, so it didn't really bother you all that much. Your friends were always there to support you, and that's all that had mattered. Then when Mituna had developed Tourette syndrome, shit just hit the whirling device.

When he was released from the hospital and allowed back in school, people mercilessly ridiculed him. The only ones who'd stayed by his side were Kurloz, his best and now only friend, and Latula, his girlfriend. You were pretty surprised she stayed with him, and even more surprised when she'd agreed to a long distance relationship with him, but she was committed. You had to give her that.

The divorce had just been the icing on the metaphorical cake, and Dad decided to just uproot your lives and move away. You though that running from your problems was stupid, but a part of you was grateful you wouldn't have to put up with it anymore. Although, things would just get worse when school started up again in three months. Whether you lived in Michigan or Georgia, kids were kids and they're still going to single somebody out for being different. That much even Tuna knew.

So as you put your earbuds in and hit play on your ancient MP3 player, you try to be optimistic and focus on the fact that you still have three months before you have to endure hell all over again. No school, no people, no problems. Just three months of paradise in the form of video games, computer programming, and coding. You could do this, and even when school comes around you'll be prepared. You'll stick to yourself and pass every class until the year is over and you're rewarded with three more months of absolute euphoria. Or at least as euphoric as isolation (minus Tuna and Dad) can be.

**I'll get more into the story in the next chapter, this was just to set the mood and provide a little insight.**


	2. 2o Much for 2tayiing IIn2iide

In front of you stood a modest two bedroom house, fully equipped with two bathrooms, a standard kitchen, a very basic living room, a small pantry, and a moderate-sized storage room underneath the stairs. The house is two floors, just like your old house, but doesn't have a basement because it's hovering on stilts. Why would it need to be hovering on stilts? Oh, right: because Dad bought a fucking beach house.

The idea of living near the ocean absolutely repulsed you, and the fact that THAT would become a reality? Let's just say you feel like you're going to hurl. Other than that unfortunate little detail, your new house isn't all that bad you guess. There's a white porch that wraps around the entire house and connects to sky blue siding. The roof matches the porch's color and slants in an attempt to look different from typical homes. There are three windows just on the front of the house: one on either side of the white door and one above it. The one above the front door is the biggest, and you decide that you'd rather sleep in the crawl space beneath the stairs then have that much sunlight in your room.

You drag the first of many suitcases lazily behind you and march past both Tuna and Dad, not really in the mood for conversation. The door is unlocked already, but you don't have the patience to dwell on that so you just open the stupid thing. You apparently use too much force when opening it because it swings back and strikes the wall it's connected to. You can here Dad say something, but you ignore whatever it is and trudge up the carpeted stairs. You don't bother to examine the first floor because honestly? You don't plan on coming out of your room unless you REALLY need something.

There's a white door at the top of the stairs, and you decide that that's going to get annoying very quickly. You position your suitcase awkwardly so that it leans against you and open the door to reveal a hallway. Seriously, why would you need a door to a hallway what the fuck? You groan and yank your suitcase up the last stair before opening the first door on the right. It's just a bathroom with only the necessities: a stand up shower, a toilet, and a sea shell sink. You're sure somebody must've installed that last thing thinking they were pretty clever in doing so, and all you wanna do is find this person and hurt them. It was NOT cute in the slightest.

Now that you know where the bathroom is, you decide to see what's in the room across from it. You open the door and see a small bedroom, probably a guest room. Your dad didn't mention anything about a guest room, so when you check behind the next two doors and see that they're bedrooms, you get more than a little peeved off. You decide that this smaller room will be yours since it's farther away from the other two rooms and closer to the stairs. This means quicker commutes when you have to get food and less time someone could stop you for conversation. That, and it's across from the bathroom so that's easier too.

You toss the suitcase unceremoniously to the ground and head back downstairs to repeat the process. Once you're finally done bringing all of your belongings up, which only took about ten trips, you figure that now's a better time than any to unpack. At least your dad won't bother you if you do. You open up a cardboard box with your computer in it. It's pretty much the best thing ever and it's what you spend most of your time on. Although, you can't just set it up on the floor, so you eye the desk you'd dragged up here.

Dad had insisted that you wait for him to help, but you were stubborn and mad at him so you just lugged the thing up the stairs by yourself. It fucking sucked, but the look he gave you afterwards was so worth it. You grip the edges of the desk and yank it over to the desired location. It's directly across the room from the door so you don't have to look at anyone who bothers you, and you decide that even your family will be smart enough to get the hint.

Then there's the bed. You noticed upon entering that there was already a full sized mattress in here, only there was no board. It just sort of laid on the floor, and you decide to keep it that way because the likelihood of you actually sleeping was slim to none. Plus, it'll upset your dad, and that's something you've seriously been striving for. You open up another box full of blankets and pillows and toss them haphazardly on top of the mattress. Boom, consider your bed made. Time to set up your computer.

You do so in record time, and before you know it you've also unloaded all but your suitcase. The suitcase just had your clothes and didn't strike you as that important right now. Besides, you only wore like four different outfits, so there wasn't a lot in the bag anyway. The other stuff that you'd already unpacked consisted of your laptop, your wheely chair, a shitty little purple lamp, your mini fridge, two 12 packs of Mountain Dew (for the fridge obviously), a medium sized dresser for the clothes you weren't going to bother with yet, a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, your 24 inch TV, the speakers for your TV and computer, your headset and microphone, and black curtains for the window in your new room. Don't wanna risk any light seeping through.

Pretty proud of how quickly you unpacked, you decide that you deserve to play Minecraft for a while. You double click the icon on your monitor and, just as you're about to enter your favorite server, your fucking family walks in and ruins everything. You resist the urge to turn around, but you can hear them. You can hear the springs in your mattress creek, meaning Tuna had probably jumped on it, and then Dad just HAD to clear his throat so you'd turn. There were no more excuses to ignore them.

You turn your chair around and give your dad the rudest glare you can manage, but he just chuckles heartedly like a douche. Your brother is currently wrapping himself in your sheets, probably trying to make himself into a cocoon. You groan and nod your head in disapproval, completely deterred because of Tuna's antics. You just can't stay upset when there's an adorable seventeen year old twirling around in your blankets and chucking pillows at Dads face. Your dad smiles and raises a hand to block the fluffy weapons, then looks at you and you frown. Fuck, you were hoping Tuna would distract him and he'd forget why he was up here, but then again that's not like your dad.

"Looks like we've got three rooms," he tells you as if you're not already completely fucking aware of that, "Lucky you, right?"

"Oh ya, if moving acroth the fucking country and living near a beach maketh me lucky then I'm the luckietht athhole in the fucking world," you sarcastically inform him, even going as far as smiling to convey your point. Dad just sighs and shakes his head at you, and you couldn't help but notice how he'd flinch every time you cussed. Hell, if you weren't so pissed off you might even feel a tad bit guilty. Only a tad though.

"I know you aren't happy with how things worked out, but-"

"But nothing! I don't care if mom left your ath, that doethn't mean you can puthy out and drag your fucking kidth with you! Thingth weren't that bad, but YOU jutht couldn't handle being even remotely clothe to that bitch tho now HERE WE ARE! Thtuck in thome mitherable thtate by thome thtupid ocean!" you scream at him, telling him your opinion on the situation for the fourth time since he'd suggested it. He frowns and looks away from you. Good, fuck him!

"Tuna wants to go swimming," he says, getting to the reason he'd even bothered coming up here, "I need you to take him while I finish unpacking. I'm making spaghetti for dinner, so be back in an hour or two."

Then he leaves your room and you can hear him go downstairs. You could've sworn you'd heard a sob too, but that may have just been in your imagination. You turn to Mituna, who looks like he's about to cry. He'd always hated confrontation, even before the incident, and the fights between you and Dad upset him the most. Although, can it really be called a fight when you're the only one yelling?

"Come on Tuna, let'th go."

He instantly perks up and it makes you smile just a little. Fuck, this kid always knew how to make things better didn't he? You start downstairs with Mituna right behind you, already dressed to go, and you peer around the corner cautiously to make sure your dad isn't in the kitchen. He isn't, so you exit through the back door with your brother and walk along a concrete pathway until your stepping on sand instead of rock.

Mituna runs past you with a childish grin towards the ocean, and you calmly walk behind him. He runs into the water until it comes up to his chest, then turns to you with the brightest smile you've ever seen on a person.

"Hey Thullox, come FUCKING THWIM WITH ME YOU UTHELETH CUNT pleathe!" he begs, and you just frown at his outburst. He notices your frown and mirrors it before bowing his head in shame.

"I'm thorry Thollux…"

He's bent over so his brown hair is now covering his face completely, but you know he's near tears. Not really wanting to see your older brother cry because of something that was out of his control, you laugh loud enough so he can hear. He straightens out and looks at you hopefully.

"Don't worry about it Tuna, jutht go thwim. I'll watch, ok?" you tell him, and he nods happily and dives underwater. You decide to just lay down in the sand, seeing as you have nothing better do to, and stare at the clear blue sky. There are no clouds today, but you don't really care because you really just wanna go back inside. You could care less about stupid clouds.

You decide to rest your eyes and do your best to enjoy yourself, soothed by the happy squeals of your Tuna-Fish. You smile a little and think that maybe this whole thing won't be so bad. It's quiet along this beach, save Mituna, and if it stays like this you dare say you might even ENJOY living here. Maybe for once in your life you can actually just relax and be happy.

And then you hear Mituna scream and the entire dream of contentedness just goes to hell. You jerk up and the first thing that comes to mind is 'oh thit he'th drowning' but what you see is a million times worse.

There're two other kids in the water with your brother. One of them has slicked back pitch black hair and a cigarette in his mouth, the bigger one, and is pushing your brother's head underwater while his arms flail above the surface. The other kid who's a bit smaller with a purple streak in his hair is tugging frantically on the bigger one's arm. They look like siblings, but it doesn't appear that they like each other very much because the bigger one just let go of your brother and punched the smaller one in the face.

You quickly get up and run towards Mituna, but freeze when you reach the water's edge. Fuuuuuhhhh, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this, you can fucking do this! You charge into the water towards your brother who's desperately trying to swim in your direction, but the bigger kid has a hold on his ankle and won't let go. You're not very tall, so by the time your hand grabs Tuna's the water is already at your chin. He clings to your hand for dear life and you pull him towards you with every bit of strength you possess.

There was no way in HELL you were going to let Mituna get bullied again, no fucking way! He didn't deserve it, and if these punks thought they could hurt him then they had another thing coming! Although, who were you even kidding? You're scrawny and weak, so it's not like you could fight them, and you don't think they'd be up for a battle of wits. All you can do is just keep pulling and cussing and walking backwards until the bigger kid snickers and punches you in the nose. Your grip on Tuna remains, but you lose your footing and fall in the water. Oh fucking shit god damnit no!

You struggle to keep your eyes open as you continue to pull, but all you can see are the blinding rays from the sun reflecting off the water and you've run out of oxygen from screaming. Your hand falls out of Mituna's and your thoughts cloud over and the last thing you remember seeing is a purple streak and the gayest glasses ever made.


	3. 2tupiid 2aviior

You hear a voice in the distance calling your name, beckoning for you to come closer. You don't recognize the voice, but you think the accent is kind of cute and the way they're saying your name makes you smirk. They sound desperate as hell and it fills you with arrogance, figuring that you had a hand in making them sound this way. Whatever you did, you decide you should do again just so you can hear this voice.

When you try to find the owner of the voice, you find that you can't because your eyes aren't open. The only thing you can see are black waves, dancing against your eyelids to the sweet melody that was that accent. Seriously, you can't even place it. Was in German? You don't know. All you know is that, for some reason, the darkness won't go away. It doesn't occur to you that you should open your eyes.

Instead, you feel something sloshing around in your throat and it makes you gag. What the fuck was in your throat, and why can't you spit it out? You're starting to choke, and that voice from earlier is gone. Emptiness envelopes your being as you realize what's happening: you're dying. You're choking, you're alone, and you're dying. You'd smirk if you could: one final 'fuck you' to the world before you go out, but alas it was not meant to be. The black waves disappear and are replaced with something that troubles you a little bit.

Light.

You try to remember what that means in religion when you feel pressure on your lips. There's something sucking the remaining breath from your lungs and your nose is clamped shut, so you figure that someone is choking you to death. The weird substance in your throat must be blood, or an over accumulation of saliva. The mystery strangler continues sucking away your oxygen, but they don't stop there. They start sucking out the BLOOD! Or the saliva, or whatever the hell is stuck in your throat.

Disgust and loathing begin to flood your mind and those two things are all you can feel at the moment as the mystery person slams something into your stomach. You cough up some of the blood/saliva, allowing a little more air to travel to your lungs. They punch you again, and even more liquid substance shoots out. Finally you can breathe again, and you begin to hear that melodious voice again. They sound needy, just like earlier, and all you want to do is give them what they desire.

You smirk devilishly as the light begins to fade away and the distant voice becomes much clearer. The light distorts into various shapes and a setting you're certain you know. The scenery is fuzzy, but still strikes you as familiar, so you just lay there and wait for the view to become clearer. You notice something hovering over you, and it shifts upwards when you turn towards it. You squint in concentration because you can almost make it out and- Oh fuck no, not this asshole again.

Above you sits that smaller boy from earlier with the purple streak in his hair, and you distinctly remember him being the last thing you'd seen when… What even happened? You aren't quite sure why you don't like this guy, he doesn't seem all that bad, but you just have this gut feeling that you know him from somewhere and that the confrontation was not positive in any way. You look around, ignoring the relieved look on the stranger's face, and take in your surroundings.

There's the ocean, waves rippling and attacking the shore. They look like they're clawing at you, trying to rip you to shreds and wash away what's left. Luckily for you, there's an imaginary line blocking off the water and you can tell it's pissing the water off. Probably. The sand underneath you is sticking to your form like glitter glue, and it's all you can do to stop yourself from flailing around like an idiot trying to brush it off. You won't provide this stranger with the satisfaction of seeing you like that. You make a mental note to flail around like an idiot when he's gone.

Behind you rests a small blue cottage, standing proudly against the deadly waves. Oh wait! That's your house! Yes, you moved here with your dad and Mi-

"Mituna!" you cry out, scrambling to your feet and ignoring the sand clinging to your back. It all comes rushing back to you: your brother getting drowned, you running out there to help him, that larger kid punching you, then there was a purple streak and gay glasses…

Just like the stranger next to you has. You shift your body to face him and swing your hand forward, resulting in a loud 'SMACK' as the back of your hand connects with his cheek. A large red hand-shaped mark shines on his face, but you don't care. This was one of the assholes fucking with your brother, and a simple slap was just the beginning of what you had planned.

"Tell me where the fuck my brother ith, or tho help me, I'll re-dye that thtupid thtreak red with your blood!" you threaten, snarling to add more of an effect. You see that he's thoroughly frightened and almost grin at how pathetic he looks right now, but that would ruin the intimidation you've got going on and you can't have that.

"Don't worry Sol!"

You freeze. That voice was the same voice from the blackout, and you'd actually thought it was kind of… Hot. What the fuck is wrong with you? Now the accent just repulses you to know it's spewing from the mouth of that disgusting creature. Then it hits you: he said 'Sol', meaning that he knows you name and had the audacity to give you a NICKNAME like you were chums or something? Oh fuck no.

"Three thingth aththole: how do you know my name, don't you DARE give me a fucking nickname becauthe we are NOT friendth, and where ith my brother!?" you seethe, balling your hand into a fist and landing a right hook to his jaw. His head twists uncomfortably, but leaves nothing but a mere bruise because let's face it: you aren't all that strong. Still, he looks terrified and you can't tell if he's for real or just humoring you. His hand is cradling his jaw like a mother would her child and his lips are quivering just the slightest. He's appears to be near tears, and you don't think you could be more disgusted with this boy if you tried.

"Your brother is in the wwater, cod! And I heard him yellin' it wwhen you wwere drowwnin'," the asshole explains with a whiny undertone. You look to your right to find Tuna playfully frolicking in the ocean, a large smile plastered on his face. How could you have not noticed this earlier? Granted, things had been hazy and even when they cleared up, you were way too busy with this guy to have paid any attention. Not because he was more interesting, but because he was an asshole obviously.

The sight of Tuna having fun brings a smile to your face. Well, kind of. One corner of your lips was quirked up, so you suppose that would be considered a smile. The boy in front of you giggles, yes, he fucking giggles and it makes you want to beat the shit out of him. Or at least, you would if you could. You're pretty sure you'd get charged with assaulting a women if you did, seeing how gay this guy was. Like seriously, what kind of man giggles?

"Hey, wwhy do you wwear those 3D glasses? Also, you're kinda cute wwhen ya smile Sol," he tells you, unwittingly convincing you of his femininity. So. Fucking. Gay.

"Don't ever athk, thay, or call me that again fithh dick," you warn, pulling your eyes away from Mituna so you could glare at the other kid. You watch as the smile he'd been wearing slowly transformed itself into a smirk, and all you can think is 'what the fuck ith thith aththole thmirking about?'

"Oh? I was only telling you the truth. I'd love to see your eyes Sol," he says with a wink. Oh god, you're going to be sick, and not just because the sea water is crawling back up your throat. Fuck, you must've have swallowed some. Huh, let's see how cute this guy thinks you are when you puking all over his lap!

He noticed you lurching and scoots away, seeming to read your mind. He stands up and extends a hand as some sort of consolation you're sure. You bat the appendage away and he just shrugs.

"The name's Eridan Ampora, nice to meet ya," he introduces, bringing his hand back to his side. You groan, and not just because this guy was annoying as hell. Your stomach is kind of doing somersaults here, and keeping anything down seems impossible right now.

"I didn't athk who you were, jutht tell me what happened," you insist, clutching around your stomach in pain. He knits his eyebrows together and tilts his head to the side, which only makes you groan again. How stupid could this guy be? As soon as this thought crosses you mind, he brightens up and you can practically see the light bulb over his head click on.

"Oh right! Wwell, ya see, Cronus wwas pickin' on your brother and I tried stoppin' him, but he punched me an' I fell backwwards into the wwater. Then he hit you and you wwere drowwnin' so I savved ya and gavve ya CPR. I guess Cro got bored cause he just glared at me and left wwhile I wwas draggin' you to shore," he tells you, shifting his weight after every sentence. He looked nervous, what with how he'd run his fingers through his hair and fiddle with his scarf, and you couldn't help but think he didn't look entirely bad. Not good! But you guess not bad either.

"Don't you ever put your lipth againsht mine again, and who the fuck ith Cronuth?"

He stares at you blankly for a minute, then tightens his scarf and says, "He's my brother. He ain't such a bad guy, honest! We're just havvin' some issues and-"

"I don't give a fuck about your brother or your iththues, or you for that matter tho jutht go away," you interrupt, turning away from him and walking towards Tuna. You need to access the damage so you can cover it up before Dad sees. You don't need him to worry about anything else right now, you owe him that much at least.

"Wwhy didn't you swwim?"

You stop in your tracks and whip back around to face the Eridan kid who's just staring at you like you're a museum exhibit or something.

"Excuthe me?" you ask, knowing what he said but not wanting to respond. You glare at him in hopes that he'll get the hint and leave, but based off of how long he's endured you, you find that unlikely.

"Wwhy didn't you just swwim back to the surface," he repeats. You snarl in response and turn away. Maybe if you just ignore him then he'll go away, right?

"You can't swwim, can you?"

Wrong. You remain silent, answering his question without having to say a word. You look at the sand below you and walk towards the ocean again, trying your best to focus on the task at hand. You NEED to see if Tuna has any bruises or-

"I can teach you ya knoww," he offers, and you growl. That's it, no more putting up with this asshole. You turn around to face him for the last time, you swear it, and bear your canines. They're sharper than most and useful for intimidation purposes, so they're a nice additive to the narrowed eyes and animalistic sounds reverberating from your throat.

"I'm only going to thay thith one more time fuckathth: leave me the fuck alone! I don't need your fucking thympathy, tho jutht go! Occupy your brother'th time becauthe I'd rather he beat the shit out of you than Tuna!"

You watch as tears run down his cheeks, and you worry for a second that you'd gone too far. Maybe you should've just ignored him and gone inside. At least then he wouldn't be crying in your backyard, if you can even call it that. Is this part of your backyard? Probably. Oh god now he's scowling.

"Ya knoww wwhat? I fuckin' savved your life you geeky reject! I could'vve let you drowwn and just left wwhile Cro beat on your brother, but I didn't! I savved your pathetic ass and pried Cro awway from your brother, but noww I see that I should'vve just let him beat your brother and I should'vve just LET YOU DIE!"

Ok, that stung.

"You're nothin' but an ungrateful lispin' douche wwho doesn't evven deservve to livve, so fuck you Sol and not in the good wway!" he finishes by flipping you off, then throwing his damp cape over his shoulder and marching away. At least you got him to leave, but now you feel ort of guilty. He did kinda save you, and technically he wasn't even doing anything to Tuna so… You can't believe you're doing this.

"Hey aththole," you shout after him, jogging to catch up. He turns to face you in a huff, and the sight of him pouting like that makes you grin. As you do, his expression softens dramatically and you finish with, "Meet me here tomorrow at three tho you can teach me how to thwim. You better show: I don't like being thtood up."

He nods and hurries off, leaving you standing in the sand and watching him walk away. Wait, why the fuck are you watching him walk away? Shit that's creepy! You shake your head and look over at Tuna, who's striding out of the water towards you.

"Hey Thollux! I wanna get thome thketti now," he says, and you hear his stomach grumble. You ruffle his soaking brown hair and wrap an arm around her shoulders, guiding him back to your house. On the way you quickly skim him for bruises and are relieved to find none. One less thing to apologize to Dad for, because you know you're going to have to apologize for what you said earlier. It wasn't his fault your step mom was garbage.

You both step into the kitchen to find two plates of spaghetti on the table and a small note. You walk ahead of Mituna and pick it up. It reads:

"2orry, II had to go get 2omethiing from the 2tore. Be back around 9'ii2h."

You look at the clock: 8:12. Well, looks like you won't have to worry about apologizing for a little bit. It's just as well, because you don't feel like talking to him right now. You look away from the clock and stare at Mituna in disbelief. He'd already eaten half his plate, most of it winding up on his face instead of his mouth. You sigh, and he just smiles up at you with a dopey ass grin.

"Fuck, Tuna."


	4. A 2hattered Famiily

It's 9:04 and there's no sign of your dad. Mituna is fast asleep on your bed, twisting around and knocking the majority of your bedding off the mattress and onto the yellow shag carpeting. After cleaning off your brother's face and putting his dishes in the sink, you'd decided to take your spaghetti up to your room and eat it while playing Minecraft. When you'd reached the top of the stairs and opened the door, you'd heard stumbling behind you and rapid shuffling, meaning that Mituna had decided to follow you.

You grinned as you entered your room, pretending not to notice him doing the same, and set your spaghetti down on your computer desk. There had been a very loud 'BOO' and a jerking of your shoulders, to which you faked being scared and jumped in your spot. He'd laughed uncontrollably and you'd playfully hit his shoulder, then sat in your wheely chair and prepared to go on your computer. He asked if he scared you, and of course you'd humored him and said yes. The answer had seemed to satisfy him because he'd walked off, making himself comfortable on your mattress and texting either Kurloz or his 'Tulip'.

That had all been about a half hour ago, so by now your spaghetti was long gone. Now you are just playing Minecraft, when suddenly your phone buzzes in your back pocket. You pull it out and glance at the sender: Karkat. Fucking fantastic. Karkat was your best friend from your old school, and he was kind of a dick most of the time. He always yelled for no reason and got upset over the dumbest things, but deep down he cared about you so you'd become friends. Other than his comedic love for romcoms, you considered him a pretty decent guy.

'HEY ASSHAT, WHAT'S THE NEW HOUSE LIKE?'

You quickly respond to the message and exit out of Minecraft, opting to instead do some coding. Everyone always says that for a fifteen year old, you were pretty much a master of coding, but you know you can do better. Sure, you're viruses are tops, but you're sure that there's more potential in you.

'It i2n't two 2hiity, except for the fact that iit'2 riight by the ocean.'

You crack your knuckles and begin. Right now, you're working on a new game for you and Karkat to play together online, and you plan to make it the best game that midget has ever seen. After ten minutes of intense concentration, your phone buzzes again.

'OH FUCK THAT'S JUST COMEDY GOLD RIGHT THERE. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR TAKING SO LONG WITH THE GAME, WHICH I'M SURE YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED YET.'

Damn, he's good. An asshole, but good.

'Relax KK, II'm workiing on iit riight now.'

Behind you, Mituna starts to snore and you just know there's gonna be drool all over your pillows. You sigh and get back to making your game, not receiving an answer until 9:25 rolls around.

'WHATEVER SHIT SPONGE, JUST GET IT DONE. I'M GOING TO BED BECAUSE, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE, I ACTUALLY ENJOY BEING HEALTHY AND HAVING A LIFE OUTSIDE OF MY ROOM. NIGHT.'

You don't bother answering because you know he was referring to you and how little you sleep. It's not your fault your body would rather be on the computer than on the bed. Besides, Mituna is on it and there's no way you're sleeping in his bed, so you figure you'll just have to pull an all-nighter which is completely fine by you.

Plugging your phone into your portable charger, you get back to working on your game when you here a car pull into the drive, followed by keys jingling and the front door being opened. To drown out the sounds and make it seem like you're busy, which you pretty much are, you go onto SoundCloud and play your playlist specifically designed for coding. All of the songs are by Fox Stevenson, and you're pretty much in love with his music.

'Trigger' begins to play and cancels out the noise of rustling bags, and you continue coding and tap your right foot to the beat. You remain like this for an hour or two, or three, unaware of how much time has passed by. You're playlist has repeated all 23 songs twice now, so you know it's been awhile. You've reached the halfway mark on your game, but there is still so much more to do.

You turn off you music and save your data before shutting down your computer. You grab you phone of the charger and check the time: 11:57. You get out of your seat and look over at Tuna, who's still sleeping soundly, then you exit your room in search for your dad. You still haven't apologized and, despite how much you're gonna hate it, you know you have to.

First you check his bedroom, which is empty. The bathroom door is open, meaning no one is in there and your dad must be downstairs. The door to the stairs is shut, which strikes you as odd. You never closed it behind you, and neither did Tuna, so your dad must have. This meant that he'd come up here and left you alone, and that kind of hurt to know he didn't even bother with you.

The stairs creak a little under the pressure as you walk downstairs, somehow being louder even though you're trying not to be. Isn't that strange? These stairs have never creaked before, but now that you need silence they're acting up: go figure. You hear some shifting coming from the kitchen and decide to start there. Sure enough, there's your dad: sitting at the table and doing whatever on his smart phone. He doesn't appear to notice you, so you clear your throat and open the fridge.

You pretend to be really interested in the milk when he looks at you. You open the cupboard and grab a glass, then pour the drink until it nearly flows over the rim. You put the milk up and take a seat across from your dad, calmly sipping on the milk as you do so. He's been watching you the whole time, but you still avoid his gaze.

"Hey dad, what'th up?" you question casually, staring the liquid in your right hand. He sets his phone down before answering, dedicating all of his attention towards you. You suddenly think you're being selfish by not looking at him. Here he is, addressing the issue YOU caused like a man while you just avoid any unwanted apologies that you definitely owe.

"Look son, I know you're upset, but I didn't just do this for me. I did this for you two too, especially Mituna. You know-"

"Yeth I know everyone haraththed him! I wath there, thticking up for him and getting beaten up for it every fucking week!" you yell, completely forgetting that you were supposed to be saying how sorry you were. The subject of Mituna's problems had always been a sore spot with you because of how close you'd been, and still were, and the way your dad had said it: he'd said it like it was a fact. There was no emotion behind those words, just cold steel dripping with every damn syllable.

"I know you did!" he yells back, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table, "We moved so things would get better dammit! I don't want my sons getting beat up because of things that are out of their fucking control!"

You can see tears forming in the corners of his eyes right before he bows his head, brown shaggy hair preventing you from viewing them any longer. His arms are shaking, as is his body, and the guilt from earlier returns because you know he's gonna bring HER up. You just know it and even after five years, you're not ready to hear it. It was better to deny it, to pretend that the step bitch was the only women in your life.

"The women I love already had to suffer because of that, so I refuse to watch my kids go through the same fucking thing," he adds, and you can see the tears drip onto the table. You set down the glass of milk and stand up, ready to leave. You never should have come down here, you never should've yelled.

"I'm thorry I yelled," you say, pushing your chair in and turning around, but you can't walk away because Tuna is standing there with salty tears running down his cheeks. You frown at him and extend a hand to him, but he shies away and hisses at you.

"Tuna, how long have you been thtanding there?" you ask hesitantly, and you know your dad is watching in horror too. You two NEVER brought HER up round Mituna because he'd been her favorite. They'd been so close, and Mituna could still feel that bond after her accident and after his own.

"I wath jutht going to tell you THAT FUCKING WHORE LEFT ME FOR THOME BITCH ATHTH FUCKER, BUT YOU PIECETH OF SHIT ARE JUTHT FUCKING COCK WHORE BITCHETH WHO CAN FUCKING DIE!" he yells, gripping his hair once he realizes what he said, "I'm tho thorry I didn't mean to thay that! I wath jutht thad cauthe I heard yelling and thaw that Tulip wath dumping me and I guethth I jutht got upthet."

You can hear your dad bawling behind you and you know you can't handle this right now. On any other day, fine, but you can't do this. You're all just too broken and you can't believe you'd actually thought the step-bitch had changed anything. Mituna starts to cry harder and you turn around and head towards the back door. Your dad grabs your shoulder to stop you, but you just brush it off.

"Fuck off Thimon," you tell him right before you slam the screen door and leave your broken family.


	5. The 2tory Behiind 2ydney 2ii2ul

**Prepare yourself for even more feels. Things will stop being so damn depressing towards the end, so hand in there. My chapters are going to start being much happier as their relationship progress. Thinking about including some CroTuna... Reviews would be nice, let me know if I'm doing a good job. I'm still fairly new at writing multiple chaptered stories, so I hope this is satisfactory.**

You remember it like it was yesterday, and despite how cliché that sounds, it's true. The memory had permanently etched itself into your mind, scarring you for as long as you can remember. Any recollection of how things used to be was impossible nowadays: that tragic incident being the first memory you can think of. Childhood reminiscence? Practically nonexistent, seeing as you can't remember a damn thing before HER.

Sometimes you get snippets of what life used to be like, but not enough to dwell on. That's just as well, seeing as there's no point in clinging to something long gone. When the incident was fresh, you used to try and hold on to the past, thinking that if you remembered then maybe SHE'D come back. Then a couple years passed by and you realized how childish you were being.

Her name was Sydney Sisul, a terrible name for a girl with a lisp. Her past was spotted, but she'd finally managed to sort it out and even got a job. It wasn't anything special, just an assistant baker for a cake shop, but it made her happy. She'd always had a way with food, and baking was something she adored. She liked to cook too, and was very good, but desserts were what she really loved.

Sydney's parents had abandoned her at a young age, placing her in foster care within the same year she'd been born. They weren't ready for a child, and as she grew older, Sydney understood that and respected their decision. You used to look up to her because of how easily she'd forgiven the ones who'd fucked her over, but now you resented her for it. After the incident, you know longer thought of her as kind. You knew she'd only been so nice because fighting back was impossible. You realized she was weak.

She was a beautiful woman, and many recognized that, but it seemed that every man and women she gave her heart to couldn't handle her past. She couldn't blame them, and stayed hopeful that one day she'd meet the person of her dreams. She didn't ever get that, but she did get Simon Captor, and he was close enough for her. Beneath her lovely and rough exterior, Sydney was a very bright girl, so she enjoyed conversing with someone who could challenge her.

Simon and Sydney were the perfect match, and after only two months of dating, Simon knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He hadn't cared about her checkered past, or even her looks (although those were a nice bonus). He'd only cared about her and how much he loved her. So, he wrote her a song and performed it at her work place when she was on break. Afterwards, he pulled out a ring and asked her to marry him. It wasn't very expensive, but tat didn't matter to them because they were happy.

Of course she'd said yes, and they were wed a month later. By now Sydney was a head chef at the bakery, and Simon was working in a music studio. He figured that becoming a singer wasn't very practical, so producing music was the next best thing. They did well for themselves, and three months later decided they wanted a child. Sydney had gotten pregnant, and the two were filled with joy.

The pregnancy went wrong though, and the child was premature: having been in the womb seven months instead of nine. The married couple was informed that their new boy had a mental disorder called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This meant that he'd have behavioral issues and the inability to communicate/socialize like a normal child. The couple didn't care, saying that they'd love their child regardless, and named the small boy Mituna Kevin Captor.

The next year was pure bliss with the addition of the new Captor, and the couple found that there were easy ways to deal with his social disorder. He was a very needy child and required a lot of attention, which the new parents were happy to give. Then, even more good news: Sydney was pregnant again! This child was born on time and, nine months later, Sydney gave birth to a healthy baby boy. That child was you, and they'd named you Sollux Roland Captor.

With the new baby boy, Simon and Sydney were forced to divide the attention so both children received some. Mituna had taken a while to adjust, about two years, but learned to love you all the same. As the two boys grew, the parents noticed little things about them. Each child had developed a lisp like their mother, but only one resembled her. That child was you, while Mituna looked more like Simon. Then there was your eyes, which you despised and refuse to describe right now, and Mituna's hair which was impossibly soft all the time.

Once you were about six, the role of big brother had transferred to you. You and Mituna had grown so much closer, and you took care of him to the best of your abilities. Things remained like this, and although there were a few bad spots, you're life had been fairly good you think. As was mentioned before, you don't really remember, which leads us to the last thing you can recollect: the incident.

You weren't there, so all you can base things off is what the police told you. Someone from her past had located her again, one of the foster parents who'd taken her in. Social services had to take Sydney away from him and his wife because he'd been making advances towards the child. When the authorites found out, he'd gone to prison for raping a minor, and his life had gone to hell. His wife had no idea what he was doing to the child and left him when it was found out. He'd gotten fired and imprisoned, so he wanted revenge you guess.

He'd been released a week before, and it was obvious that he remembered his petty grudge against her. She'd been walking home from the bakery, it was only a couple blocks or so away from your house, when he cornered her. He'd raped her, killed her, and stolen her belongings. Humanity always surprised you with how cruel it could be, and this man was no exception. He was arrested a couple days later, but that did nothing to justify what happened. You remember wanting him to die, to kill him yourself.

Now that you're older, the thought strikes you as comedic: imagine a nine year old going after and murdering a grown man. Your success would've been unlikely, so you suppose it's a good thing you never tried. He was in jail, so you couldn't even if you wanted to.

Things at home went to hell after her passing. For a while, you hated the man who'd killed her and touched her, but as you grew older you started to resent her more. You never really knew why, you just knew you no longer cared about her. She was weak, letting that man defile her, and you hated talking about her. Mituna had taken it the hardest, even harder than Dad, and lashed out even worse than before. You'd taken to solitude in order to cope, which was fine with Dad because he had to handle Mituna.

Dad had remarried, some bitch you won't even bother naming. She hated you and Mituna and only used your dad for his money. Fuck, she was even cheating on him throughout the entire marriage! You think Dad knew it too, he just didn't care because she looked so much like Sydney. He didn't care that she drained their bank accounts or brought men into your house or smacked you and Tuna around. She looked like his lost love, and he was too heartbroken to realize how different she was from Sydney.

People at school started treating the two of you differently. They didn't just make fun of Tuna because of his mental disorder anymore, they beat him. And people didn't like being around you anymore and teased you about your mom, your lisp, and your intelligence. You didn't care, because you didn't want to be around them either. Then after Mituna's accident, you started fighting back for HIM. They stopped beating him and started beating you instead, still harassing Mituna when they could. You liked this better because that meant Mituna wouldn't suffer any physical damage. He didn't need that, and you figured that you deserved it for giving up on Mom.

And now, here you are, running from you're problems and abandoning your family. Why were you so fucking selfish? You liked to believe that you were strong, but deep down you know you aren't. You just avoid the ones who care about you, just like you are right now, but you don't turn back when this thought tortures you. You just continue running along the beach, running into the wooded area about a mile away, running to the edge of the woods by the ocean and collapsing to your knees.

You tear off the 3D glasses and dig your fingers into your eyes, screaming into the night as the tears pour down your face. You just can't take anymore of this because you know that Mom wasn't the REAL weak on: you were. Mituna had so many problems and he still managed to smile every day. Dad had lost so much and endured hell, and he STILL tried to make things up to you! While you… You just bitched and lashed out for no reason. You don't really hate them, or your mom: you hate yourself.

You cry out her name and hunch your body over, slamming your fists into the sand repeatedly.

"Why am I thuch a failure!?" you shout, now gripping your dark brown hair and tugging at the strands, "I'm tho thorry Mom, pleathe jutht help me!"

You've never been one for religion, but right now you hope that she really is in the sky above you. Then you sneer in disgust at yourself: of course she's not, because she's dead. There's no Heaven, just the Hell of a world you live in and the only place she's at is beneath the ground, hundreds of miles away. You continue to bawl your eyes out when you feel something grip your shoulder. You recognize it as a hand and suspect it's Dad, once again being the better person and helping you instead of himself. You turn to apologize and lean on his shoulder, but you don't see your dad.

Instead you see that stupid kid from earlier. He had no right to see you like this, so you try to cover up your crying with a growl. You bare your canines and jerk away from his touch, snarling like a wounded animal because in a lot of ways: you are. He reaches for you again, so you grab his wrist and pull him towards you, using your other hand to punch him in the face. He stumbles backwards and scowls at you, rubbing the abused area and approaching you once again. A fresh set of tears fall from your eyes, and as his gaze meets yours his expression softens.

He's wearing that stupid purple cape again, and the same hipster glasses, but instead of swimming trunks he was on a black sweater and a pair of purple and blue skinny jeans. His hair is unruly, and you think it looks better this way. For the first time you notice the dark circles underneath his eyes, much like the ones you have that you hide behind those cheap 3D glasses which are lying several feet away.

The hipster asshole comes up to you and kneels in front of you, then has the audacity to wrap his arms around you in what you think is supposed to be a comforting hug. He's whispering some nonsense about how it'll 'all be ok', but you know he's lying. You bring your hands to his chest to push him away, but he's significantly stronger and holds you close. You about to hit him again when you notice something circular, a bruise or something blooming on his neck.

You bring up a hand to touch it and he winces in pain. Upon closer inspection, you realize it's a burn, but from what?

"Cigarette burn," he informs you, pulling away slightly to look at you, "I accidently burned Dad's dinner, so he did the same to me. Or rather, he made Cro do it."

He offers a half smile and it makes you feel so guilty for crying. Here he was, beating treated like shit, and then there was you: wallowing in self-pity like the coward you were. You wipe away most of the tears and stare into his eyes, forgetting all about your own. He sees them though, and brings a hand to your cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the remaining tears.

"Green and blue… They're lovvely," he tells you, and you hate yourself for letting him see and you hate HIM for calling them lovely. They weren't lovely, they made you a freak! You swat his hand off your face and stare at the sand beneath you, willing yourself to leave. You NEED to get away from this kid.

"For wwhat it's wworth, I don't think you're a failure."

"You don't even fucking know me," you spat, looking up so direct a hateful glare at him. He chuckles and it pisses you off: why did he get to be so happy instead of you?

"Wwell, I'd like to," he whispers, looking happily up at you. You sneer, but he just laughs again like the bastard he is, "Tell me wwhat's wwrong."

"It'th none of your buthineth."

"Howw about this: I'll tell you wwhy I'm here, then you can tell me wwhy you're here. Deal?" he suggests, to which you groan in response, "Alright, wwell that's better than nothin' I suppose. I'm here cause my dad is a fuckin' bitch wwho doesn't care about me or Cro. He makes us hurt each other, an' if wwe refuse he just hurts both a' us."

You blink a couple of times and look up at him with both pity and respect. How did he do it? How did he stay smiling?

"You're turn," he says with a grin, looking at you with earnest. You nod, figuring you have no choice but to tell him. After all, he did just confide all of that in you: a fucking stranger.

"My mom wath raped and killed, my thtep mom wath a thkank and left uth, my brother hath a shit ton of mental dithorderth, and I wath jutht forced to leave everything behind to move acroth the fucking country. There, ya happy athhole?" you ask with only mild annoyance. You figure this guy isn't THAT bad.

"Ah fuck… I'm real sorry," he says, before wrapping his arms around you again and hugging you until you can barely breathe, but you don't really mind all that much right now. Hell, you're actually tempted to hug him back. So you do, and you can practically feel him smirking.

"Don't get cocky fish dick, thith ith a one time thing," you warn, to which he chuckles and pulls away. He pokes your nose and yep, he's smirking just like you'd thought.

"You're so cute wwhen you're tryin' to be tough," he tells you, making a mock pout and poking your nose AGAIN. You grin and push him away successfully this time, turning to try and hide your laughter. He scoots so he's sitting beside you and drapes an arm around your shoulder protectively. Normally you'd hit him, but you can't find it in you to this time. Instead, you allow him this one-time victory and lay your head on his shoulder.

"Don't you wworry Sol, I'll protect ya," he says, staring at you with a sparkle in his eyes. He looks so content with just holding you, and who are you to ruin his fun? Stupid Eridan, being all nice to you. You blow him a raspberry so he's aware of your agitation, then grin triumphantly.

"Fuck you ED."


	6. Dealiing Wiith Daddy

**Holy shit sorry for taking so damn long to update. I hate when people make you wait a week for an update, and then I go about doing this nonsense. Grrr life, making me busy and crap. I'll have the next chapter up later tonight probably, as an apology, but for now I have to update Alternia Stuck. Hope to see you stick around tonight because in the chapter after this one there will be *drum roll please* CROTUNA! Reviews make me super happy and make for quicker updates, so comment and tell me what a good (or bad) job I'm doing! Reading what you guys comment always makes me so giddy TuT**

You quietly close the screen door behind you, lest a member of your family were to hear your arrival. You were content right now, and you knew that an encounter with Mituna or Dad would only ruin your good mood. Eridan had been kind enough to walk you back to your house, which was only three houses down from his: perfect walking distance. You're a bit disappointed in yourself for your actions, what with leaning your head on his shoulder and such, but you can't find it in you to care all that much.

Glancing at the time that was constantly being flashed in green on the microwave, you see that it's nearing two in the morning. A part of you is surprised you'd stayed out that long, but the other just wants to smile. So you do, and you think about how damn fun it was just spending time with somebody who understood. He'd understood what it was like to have a fucked up family, maybe even more than you did. Sure, your mom was dead and your brother was disabled, but it's not like your life was all that bad.

Dad tried so hard to make things perfect for you and Tuna, and Tuna was always there for you in his own way. You couldn't ask for a better family, and if you for some reason did ask, you'd receive nothing because there just WASN'T a group of people who could come close to being as great as Dad and Mituna. They did nothing but care for you, and you acted ungrateful. You weren't really, but you know what they say: actions speak louder than words. Admittedly though, your words sort of went along with your actions too, so you were technically just ungrateful all around. Technically.

You sigh, resenting your mind for allowing these negative thoughts to enter. Didn't you just opt to remain content? Wasn't that the whole point of being quiet and avoiding your family for the time being? You hang your head and open the freezer portion of the fridge, figuring you might as well do something about the pain in your stomach. At least THAT you can control. You grab the bag of frozen chicken nuggets and open up one of the cabinets to grab a paper plate, then arrange six of the bite sized chicken patties in a half circle along the edge of it.

After popping the food into the microwave and setting it for a minute and a half, you put the bag of chicken nuggets back in the freezer and grab the honey off of the top of the fridge. You were always fond of the sticky substance and used it for dipping purposes with most of the things you ate. Either that or you'd just down half a bottle of straight honey. It was something of a quirk that you and your family shared: you all just loved honey.

The microwave beeped, meaning the meal was finished cooking. You open the radioactive machine and remove the food, closing it back up and setting the plate on the kitchen table. You grab the honey as well, squirting a healthy amount onto the side of the plate without any chicken nuggets. You proceed to sit down at the same chair you'd sat in hours ago and munch on the late night/morning snack, smothering the meat with an abundance of honey per bite.

Your thoughts shift from negative to positive as they focus on a certain cape-wearing asshole you know. You think of how childish you'd behaved when with him, and how you'd forgotten all of your problems with reckless abandon. Your family couldn't have been farther away at that moment, almost as if you were the only one in Georgia: as if they were still back in Michigan. There was just something about that hipster imbecile that made you want to both beat him to bloody pulp and spend all of your time with him. He was just so irritating and yet, it was enticing the way he toyed with your mind.

There's a small creak from behind as you finish the last chicken nugget, but you refuse to turn around. You already know who it is and you really don't wanna do this right now. They don't really care apparently, and take the seat cross from you: the same chair they sat in before you left.

"Hey son."

You flinch at the use of 'son', finding the title unfitting in this particular moment. You don't deserve to be called his son, not when you left them to cry their eyes out just so you could do the same in solitude. Not that that really worked out, but still. You'd PLANNED to be alone, and that was bad enough. They needed you, and you just…

"I'm glad to see you're finally home," he continues, and you just know he's staring at you: boring right into your very being. The idea strikes you as preposterous, but it's your dad. Anything is possible.

"I couldn't help but notice someone walked you home," he adds, making you tense up. He knew you were home the whole time. Not only that, but he knew that you were with Eridan. What would he think? Would he despise the boy for winning over your attention, or would he get the wrong idea and think that the two of you guys were a thing? Either seemed plausible as you hunch over even more, dark brown locks dancing atop the table. Your eyes are clenched shut as you dig your nails into the white table top, trying to hold back any resentment you have left for your father.

"He was wearing some of the most ridiculous things, considering it's so humid outside. A sweater, a cape, tight fitting jeans. Not to mention-"

You silence your dad by slamming your fist against the table, striking the same area you'd dug your claws into. You peer up at him through make-shift brown curtains, breathing heavily as you do your best to keep your voice level.

"He wearth them becauthe hith dad fucking beatth him," you tell him with a dark undertone, repeating what Eridan told you a mere hour ago.

"_Hey Sol, howw bout wwe start the swwimmin' lessons noww?" Eridan asked, already untying the cord holding his cape in place. He allows the fabric to glide onto the sand, the whole thing seeming way too ceremonious for swimming. He was always making everything look so much more noble then it truly was, and it make you snicker._

"_It'th night time fish breath, the water ith gonna be freezing!" you argue, sitting in the sand and watching him take off his sweater. He chuckles a little at your response, but it seems forced, and once your eyes focus on his chest you see why. His body is littered with bruises, burns, and cuts that you assume are from his father and brother. Before you even know what you're doing, you jump onto your feet and wrap your arms around him. You had no clue it was this bad. You'd expected a couple bruises, but this was too much! Maybe if you'd seen them earlier, you wouldn't have been so rude, but the idiot was wearing a t-shirt. Now you understand._

_He returns the gesture and hugs you back, resting his chin atop your head and nestling it into your hair. You aren't sure why you embraced him, and you aren't really sure you want to let go. If anything you just want to kill his dad and his brother, the same murderous thoughts of a nine year old resurfacing in a fifteen year old: how quaint. _

"_It ain't a big deal. All I havve to do is wwear swweaters or a cape an' nobody wwill see," he consoles, rubbing the small of your back soothingly. His words do nothing to calm you down. If anything, they only upset you more._

"_You shouldn't have to hide thothe you moron!" you sob, digging your nails into his bare skin where his shoulder blades are, "You need to call thomebody to arretht them!"_

"_Shhh, I can't do that. Besides, it ain't evven Cro's fault, it's just Dad's," he tells you, making sure to stick up for his brother. You don't know why he's bothering with that piece of shit Cronus, but you sort of respect him for it._

"_Then do thomething about your dad at leatht!" you urge, burying your face into his chest and willing these scars to disappear. _

"_Can't, or they might separate me and Cro. Plus, I got somethin' here that I don't wwanna leavve," he explains, and you almost wanna punch him for what he's gonna say. Just as you expected, he's pulling away and looking down at you with mischief in his eyes. He smirks, and opens his mouth to say something when you beat him to it._

"_If you thay 'you', I'll never fucking talk to you again," you warn with a grin. His smirk widens as he pushes you off him, ending the hug completely. His laughs and ruffles your hair, which pretty much just pisses you off._

"_Wwoww, full a' yourself much? I wwas OBVVIOUSLY gonna say the ocean, fuckin' narcissist."_

You nearly smile at the memory, because you KNOW he was going to say 'you'. A part of you wishes you'd stayed silent so he'd say it, but there's no use dwelling on it now. You have a dad to handle. You raise your head so he can see your face, hair naturally falling to frame your face. Your dad looks frightened, if just slightly, and concerned, but you can't really bring yourself to care. It seems that you never can, because every time you scold yourself on your behavior, you resort to the very same behavior when confronted.

"Oh… Well I'm sorry for him, whoever he is, but I don't understand why you'd run off in the middle of the night and avoid your family just to hang with some boy you barely know. If you keep acting up I'll…," he trails off, but you don't give him enough time to think of a way to finish the empty threat.

"You'll what? Huh, you'll WHAT!?" you shout, taunting him while grinning like a maniac and narrowing your eyes, "You won't do shit Thimon!"

He flinches at the usage of his name for the second time that night and looks away from you in defeat. You were right, and he knew it.

"Please just don't shout. I got Mituna to calm down and go to sleep finally, and I don't want to drag him into this again," he pleads, bringing a hand up to cover his face. At the mention of Mituna's name you relax into the chair, erasing the look of insanity you'd been sporting earlier. Resentment flowed out of your being, replaced with both guilt and shame. Your dad didn't deserve this, and you're thankful that the realization hit you mid-argument. This time you'd be able to right yours wrongs before it gets any worse.

"Look, Dad… I'm thorry about the patht week, and today thpecifically. I'm jutht not uthed to being here, and I gueth I'm taking it out on you and Tuna," you offer, looking at him with sincere eyes. He says nothing and stands up, walking in the direction of the stairs. You just know he's going to ignore your apology and leave, but he surprises you by stopping at your side. It takes all of your courage to turn towards him, and when you do he wraps you up in his arms.

Your dad, the very man you've lashed out on for the past week, was hugging you: forgiving you, even though you didn't deserve it. You hug him back and stand up, allowing the beat of his heart to soothe your transgressions and lull you into a sense of welcoming.

"I love you Sollux," he tells you, "I hope you know that son."

"I love you too Dad," you say, nearly choking on the confession. He lets go and walks away, presumably to his bedroom, leaving you in the kitchen with your thoughts. You smile because things with your Dad are finally better. For the first time that week, the thoughts occupying your mind weren't negative. They weren't exactly positive either, but it was still a start.


	7. All Ampora2 Are A22hole2

**Hope this makes up for the wait. Enjoy the Crotuna, R&R, and all that good stuff.**

Your eyes flutter open as you regain consciousness, light flooding your vision and blinding you. You bring your arm up to shield your eyes when there's a warm chuckle brightening this dismal morning.

"Wake up son, it's almost three in the afternoon. Nobody needs to sleep in that late," Dad says before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. You groan and sit up, assuming he was the one who opened that damned curtains. Stupid freaking sun, always obscuring your vision and being a dick. You ball up your fists and rub your eyes, trying to rid yourself of the remnants of sleep.

You crawl off of your mattress and stand up, stretching your arms towards the ceiling and yawning. You figure that today you'll work on that game some more, when it hits you: your dad said it was almost three, as in Eridan was almost at the beach behind your house and ready to swim. You look down at your ensemble, figuring you should probably wear swimming trunks despite how much you loathe the idea of swimming. Might as well make that asshole happy, right?

After closing the curtains, you strip yourself until you've nothing on but your birthday suit, then open the suitcase you've neglected until now. You rummage through the little amount of clothing, almost instantly locating the trunks. You groan and put them on, then grab a clean shirt and pull it over your head. It's an older shirt that used to belong to your dad that hangs down to your knees, covering the shorts underneath. It's for some band that you know nothing about, but wear anyway because you're not picky on clothes.

You glance over at the cheap 3D glasses laying on the floor next to your mattress and decide to just leave them here: can't wear them when you're swimming anyway. You figure that this is good enough and open the door that leads into the hallway when suddenly you're overcome with the sudden urge to take a piss because you haven't since the plane. Before going to the bathroom, you open up your mini fridge and grab two cold Mountain Dews, deciding to get one for fish dick because you're just that nice a person.

Now that you have your two drinks in hand, you can finally relieve yourself in the privacy of the bathroom. You leave your room and enter the one across the hall, closing the door behind you and setting the drinks down on the counter. You have to use one hand to hold up your shirt, but you get the job done and flush, pulling up the shorts and allowing the shirt to fall to your knees once again. You turn around to wash your hands when something in the mirror nearly makes you scream.

Oh wait, that's your reflection. Dear fuck you look bad! Your dark brown hair is disheveled like usual, but your face looks absolutely horrid. The bags under your eyes are sunken in dramatically, which you've failed to notice up until now because of the cheap glasses you always wear. Your eyes seem to have shrunk and you detect signs of eye boogers in the corners of them: gross. Then there's your cheek with is coated in dried spit from your drool. Ya, you drool in your sleep, which is one of the reasons why you don't like sleeping.

You aren't sure why you slept in so long, because normally your body gets you up at nine in the morning. It's just always nine, and it has been for as long as you can remember, so why wasn't it today? You figure it's because of everything that happened last night as you run the water from the sink, splashing the liquid onto your face and doing your best to rub the sleep away. When you're don, you reach for a fluffy yellow towel and dry your face off, nearly having a fucking heart attack when the door is slammed open and hits the wall quite audibly.

"Hey Thollux!" Mituna greets, beaming at you like a child, "I wanna go thwimming too!"

His lack of cursing and/or spasms makes you smile because that means Dad was able to give him pills today. They reduce the episodes, which works in everyone's favor, but yesterday had been a painful reminder that medicine won't take away the disorder forever. Dad hadn't given him his pills yesterday: completely forgetting about it in the midst of their travels, but it seemed he remembered today.

"What maketh you think I'm going thwimming at all?" you ask skeptically, setting the towel down and allowing a smirk to toy with your lips.

"Cauthe you thaid you would to that boy that helped me!" he says, and it shocks you that he heard that. You didn't think he was paying attention, but that was just Tuna: always full of these little surprises. You look him over and notice that all he's wearing is his swimming trucks, unruly hair nearly obscuring his vision completely. You'll never understand how he manages to walk two steps with those bangs, but he's Tuna and you know better than to question it.

You sigh and grab the Mountain Dews, Mituna already bounded down the stairs in excitement. You follow behind and see your dad in the kitchen drinking coffee, doing something dad-like on his phone. When the two of you are in the room, he acknowledges you and sets the phone on the table.

"Hello there boys! I have fantastic news: I got a job! They completed the transfer, so now I work at the same production company, just a different building and new people," he tells you, obviously pleased with the outcome.

"Wow! That'th tho amazing Dad!" Mituna says, wrapping his arms around Dad for a hug. Dad returns the embrace, and you offer a smile and your congratulations.

"That'th pretty cool," you encourage, and he smiles back at you. It's a small gesture with a lot of meaning, and you both know it as Mituna skips out the back door. You both chuckle, and you glance at the time before heading out: 3:07. Shit, you're late. You sprint out the back door and towards the beach, no doubt shaking the hell out of the sodas, until Mituna is within your view. There's also Eridan, looking ticked off with his arms crossed and tapping his foot, wearing nothing but purple swimming trunks. The thing that makes you frown is the person beside him wearing an identical set of trunks, who also happens to be that Cronus bastard from yesterday.

He's just standing there smoking a cigarette as if he actually belongs here. You make a mental note to remind him that he doesn't and storm into the sand, glaring daggers at the undoubtedly older boy. Eridan has ceased looking annoyed and instead looks sort of guilty, pleading to you with his eyes to not say anything. Obviously, you say something.

"Hey athhat, what the fuck are you doing here? Come to torture my brother thome more?" you accuse, venom dripping from every word. The bigger kid just smirks at you like he knows something you don't and tosses his cigarette into the sand, using his boot to stomp it out.

"Nah chief, I just vwanted to make things better vwith the little guy," he says with a mischievous look in his eyes, and a part of you detects something suggestive in his tone of voice. Not to mention he reminds you of The Fonz if he were a vampire with the way he's talking. You continue to glare at him, to which he pouts and ruffles your hair.

"C'mon, just gimme a chance sport," he adds, punching you lightly on the arm. You jerk away from his touch and glance over at Mituna, who's just happily frolicking in the ocean waves. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for the guy to apologize to Mituna? After all, he doesn't have any friends here yet. It would only be one, but that's better than nothing.

"Fine," you agree before calling out to your brother, "Tuna, come over here for a thecond!"

You all three watch as he hops towards you, all smiles and giggles, light brown hair bouncing with every step. The sun is beating down on him perfectly, striking the water droplets along his body so it looks like he's sparkling, and to you, he is. Suddenly, you feel as if your entire being is shifting because in a way, it is. You find yourself no longer being Sollux. Why? Being you are just too damn busy being Cronus.

**You are now Cronus.**

You gaze dreamily at the boy running towards you, enjoying the way his muscles move perfectly in sync with his body. Then there was that goofy grin and messy hair that simply screamed innocence, and if there was anything you were good at it would be taking innocence. You were sort of known as a casanova around these parts, but the nerd didn't need to know that: he didn't need to know what you were planning to do with his brother who was way too innocent for his own good.

"What ith it Thollux?" the boy asks, practically surrounded by an aura of cute. You offer him a lopsided grin and extend a hand for him to take.

"Your brother vwas kind enough to givwe me a second chance, and I vwas hopin' you'd be vwillin' to do the same babe," you explain, adding a wink at the end for good measures. You poured on a heavy amount of seduction into your tone, which would be enough to lure ten women to your bed, but the boy is just staring at your hand with a confused look on his face. You retract the hand and widen your grin, adding even more charm as you say, "Sorry about vwhat happened yesterday. I just vwasn't myself an' I shouldn't havwe taken it out on such a lovwely young man. The name's Cronus, but you can call me vwhatevwvwer you like svweet cheeks."

"Ok, fuck no. What the hell are you even doing athhole?" the nerd interrupted, totally ruining the vibe you just set, "I thaid you could apologize to my brother, not flirt with him!"

You're pretty sure the lisping bitch would've kept talking if it hadn't been for the giggle that escaped his brother's lips. It was such an enchanting sound, full of childish mischief, and if you had any doubts of pursuing this boy, they were gone now.

"My name'th Mituna and you're really funny," he says, pointing right at you and it takes everything you have not to jump him right here right now, "Do you wanna thwim with me?"

You stare at him with wide eyes, barely believing that such an adorable boy was falling for your tricks. The part that surprises you the most is that you're actually feeling guilty about it, but you can't even focus on those feelings because he's already grabbing your hand and dragging you to the ocean. He lets go once the water reaches his hips and turns towards you, bringing an assault of sea water with him. You sputter as some of it enters your mouth, tainting your taste buds with that damned flavor.

"You little shit I oughtta-"

You're about to threaten him, but the hair is out of his eyes and it makes you swoon. His smile fades, replaced with something that resembles confusion as he stares at you with those saucer eyes that you adore far too much: one brown and one blue. The astonishment must show on your face, because he's blowing a raspberry at you and splashing water against your chest.

"Don't thtare at my eyeth shit head!" he teases, running farther into the water. You grin and follow, picking him up and throwing him farther out when you catch up to him. He resurfaces with a smile, flipping his hair back in seemingly slow motion and you find yourself with a difficult issue down south at the sight. You will yourself to think of your brother naked, which quickly fixes the problem so you can continue to play with your prey. His back is turned to you as he stares out at the sea, and you take this opportunity to sneak up on him from behind.

You dive underwater and search for his form. Once you're close enough, you grab ahold of his waist and pop out of the water, bringing him with you. He giggles and struggles against your grip, leaning back until he's slung over your shoulder and his wet hair is clinging to your back. Then you feel something small squeeze your ass and your grip loosens, sending Mituna head first into the water. You realize that that was his hand, and the issue from earlier comes back.

_Eridan naked, Eridan naked. Oh fuck come on please vwork!_

Within a minute, you're erection dies down and you sigh it relief. You didn't usually get this worked up over anybody, but Mituna just had a hold of you that you couldn't explain. There was something different about the little shit, and you were determined to find out what.

"That'th what you get for being a pervert!" he says, pulling you away from your thoughts. You turn around and narrow your eyes at him, trying to access what was different. He was definitely adorable, more so than anyone you've gotten. They were usually classified as sexy, but this one? It just seemed wrong to call him that: like it didn't quite do him any justice.

"Me? A pervwert? Vwell I nevwer!" you joke, but then a troubling thing ensues: you don't know how old this kid is. He's almost your height, but the way he behaves strikes you as odd.

"Ay, how old are ya sport?" you ask just to make sure. There's no way in hell your gonna hook up with someone younger than you. He had to seventeen or older, maybe sixteen. A year younger wasn't that bad, right?

"Theventeen, duh," he says with a roll of the eyes. Holy fuck he's YOU'RE age, which means you can go after him! Now, to figure out if he's single. If he's not, no big deal, you'll just have to work a little harder to get him.

"Tell me champ, do ya got a girlfriend or a boyfriend?" you question with a sexy undertone, tracing shapes on his neck with the nail on your index finger and leaning in close: irresistibly close. Mituna frowns and looks away from you when you ask, which only upsets you further. You move the finger to under his chin and force him to look up at you, a smirk greeting his frown. He gets the hint and answers, sorrow still evident on his face.

"I did, but Tulip broke up with me tho now I'm alone. Well, except for Thollux and Dad! Oh, and now you!" he says, punctuating that last part with a shit eating grin. You use your free hand to swat the bangs away from his eyes, not bothering to remove it from the back of his head afterwards. He blinks up at you like a deer in the headlights, and you know you've got him now. You inch your face a little closer before whispering, "Oh? And vwhich one of us gets to replace Tulip?"

"I don't underthtand," he confesses, eyebrows knit together to display his confusion. You chuckle and lean closer, mere inches separating the two of you.

"Allow me to demonstrate," you suggest with smirk because you're so close. The kid is almost yours and you can already feel the warmth from his lips, the heat of his body pressed to yours.

"Tuna, get over here now!"

And then that nerd ruins everything. Mituna turns away from you and focuses on his brother instead, and all you wanna do is ring Mituna's bother by the neck! How dare he fuck up your plan, especially when you were so damn close! You're about to give up completely when you feel something warm on your cheek: lips. More specifically, Mituna's lips, and they're pressed against your cheek so quickly you aren't sure if you just imagined it or not. He sticks his tongue out at you and runs off to greet Sollux, who's giving you a look so intense you're certain you'll be murdered, but you don't care because the little tease kissed you. Needing time to process what happened, you decide to stop being you and be Sollux instead.

**You are now Sollux.**

You just witnessed one of the most disgusting things you've ever had the displeasure of seeing. Your older brother, just kissed Eridan's older brother, the same older brother who beat up your older brother. Why was shit so fucking confusing and fucked up all the time?

"What do you want Thollux?" Tuna asks with mild annoyance, probably wanting to go back to that asshole smoker.

"I need you to go get all of uth thome thandwicheth," you stall, figuring that should give you enough time to figure out how to deal with this new pest. He nods and scampers off, leaving you with a very pleased Eridan.

"Wwell, it seems like somebody's upset," he says, probably referring to you with that mocking tone of voice, "Are ya jealous that your bro is gettin' some and you're not?"

You face him with a scowl, but he just meets you head on with a smirk that makes you want to smack that mouth right off his face. Of course you weren't jealous, you didn't need anyone to love except for Dad and Tuna. Besides, why would you be jealous when Tuna is stuck with a bastard like Cronus? You'd rather be forever alone then go near that guy.

"I'm not jealouth tho shut your mouth dammit! I jutht don't want our brother'th to have anything to do with each other. Why did you even let him come with you anyway?" you ask with an accusing tone, narrowing your eyes at your so called 'friend'.

"I told you, wwe're BOTH havvin' issues at home. It ain't just me, it's him too, an' he wwanted to get awway just like I did. Just try to be nice to him, ok? I knoww he's a total asshole, but it ain't his fault really."

You sigh and stare at the sand, not wanting to approach this topic. It made you think of last night by the ocean with him, and you knew if you thought about it too long it would consume your thoughts.

"Whatever, let'th jutht get thith over with tho I can thwim, ok?" you urge, peeling away the oversized shirt and tossing it to the ground. You look at him and notice that he's just staring at your chest, which you can't figure out why. Maybe it was because of how pale you were? Or maybe how UNmuscular you were in comparison to him? Either way, he's just gawking at you and you find that you don't quite care for it.

"Earth to athhole, throp thtaring at my chetht!"

"Wwould you rather me stare at those lovvely eyes a' yours?" he teases, making you blush. Wait, why the fuck are you blushing? That has literally never happened before, so what the fuck? It must be because you're embarrassed, which you should be: your eyes are hideous.

"Jutht don't thtare at me at all, ok? Ith it really that hard?"

"Wwell ya, cause you're so captivvatin', it's difficult not to look," he says with a grin that gives you butterflies. Dammit, what the hell is wrong with your body today? First you blush, and now there are butterflies in your stomach? What the literal fuck?

"Let'th jutht do thith dork," you laugh, brushing past him and towards the water, making sure to glare at Cronus, who is STILL just standing there, one last time. Eridan jogs to catch up and enters the water, holding out a hand for you to follow. You chuckle and brush the hand away, but still get in with him. Gotta start somewhere, right?

"Alright just wwatch me for noww," he instructs, diving into the water. You begin to freak out when he disappears under the water, but then he resurfaces and glides across it. It seems effortless, how he strokes his arms and kicks his feet, moving farther and farther away from you until he's a good fifty feet. You wonder how he's floating there, since there's no way he could be standing, but he swims back before you have a chance to examine. Well, examine from a distance of course.

"See, it's easy! Noww do me a favvor and lean forwward so that that gorgeous chest a' yours is against the water."

You do as he says, far too frightened to even comprehend his description of your chest. You feel like you're going to sink, but oddly enough your body floats like his did, only horizontally instead of vertically.

"Great, noww movve your arms in a strokin' motion like I did."

You mirror his earlier movements and find yourself moving through the water. You were actually SWIMMING! Although, you weren't going very fast like he was.

"If ya wwanna build up extra momentum, then kick your feet a bit."

You kick your feet and notice the pick-up in speed versus your last attempt. This was really happening: you were swimming, like legitimately swimming in an OCEAN of all things! You laugh and swim in circles around Eridan, then sputter out sea water because you made the mistake of opening your mouth like an idiot. You get back on your feet and wrap your arms around Eridan's waist in thanks. He drapes his over your shoulders and presses your head against his chest, and you can't help but notice how fast his heart is beating right now.

"Hey Sol?" he asks with a hint of fear. You look up at him with a quizitive glare, disliking the edge to his voice.

"What fish breath?" comes the usual reply.

"Wwould you be wwillin' to meet up wwhere wwe wwere last night again tonight? So wwe could hang out wwithout Tuna and Cro?" he stumbles over his words as they all come tumbling out, and he winces when he finishes as if he's expecting to be punished. You debate on whether your dad would be ok with that, but then you remember that he's never up late, with last night being the exception.

"Thure ED, what time?" you ask, and you can hear the exhale of breath coming from your friend. What was he so worried about anyhow?

"Howw about ten?" he suggests, to which you nod.

"Thoundth fine. Jutht don't expect me to be all over you again, becauthe that wath a one time thing!" you warn, voice ice cold as you bare your canines at him. He just chuckles at your pathetic display of anger and gestures to his arms.

"Then wwhat do you call this thing Sol? Is this an all the time thing, because I could definitely get used to this."

You push him away and face palm at your own stupidity: how could you fall for that? You storm back to the shore and decide to wait for Mituna and those sandwiches when you decide how you feel once and for all. You really, truly hate Eridan Ampora.

**We'll be back next time with: Mituna and sandwiches!**


	8. WARNING: RANT ENSUES

**I would like to make a brief intermission before my next update today to say a few things about my favorite character from Homestuck: Eridan Ampora. Ok well, he's actually tied with Gamzee Makara as my favorite, but whatever. Those two are just tops. Anyway, I seriously just HATE people who hate on Eridan because, in all actuality, he had every right to snap like he did. Let's just start with BEFORE they even started playing Sgrub, shall we?**

**Eridan's moirallegince with Feferi was completely one sided the entire time. Eridan did everything for Feferi, and what did she do in return? Nothing. I'm not saying Feferi is a bad troll, because she happens to be in my top five favorites. I'm simply saying that she's a little bit shellfish without realizing it. This caused for a terrible moirallegince with Eridan who craved attention more than anything. He killed lusus for her and comforted her to the best of his abilities, meaning he was actually an excellent moirail.**

**He had more of a reason to snap then most trolls: being underestimated by his friends, being neglected when all he wanted was just a bit of attention, and having his moirail dump him! Not to mention his failed blackrom with Vriska. Like seriously, how much bad luck can a guy get? Because he just has ALL the bad luck: all of it. **

**Now on to the part where I address how hypocritical most Eridan haters are. Many of them like Vriska, or Gamzee, who were both fucking murderers! Not that I have anything against them, because again, they're in my top five favorites along with Equius and Nepeta (since Gamzee and Eridan are tied), but seriously? How can you hate Eridan when there were other murderers? Sure, he's whines a lot about how lonely he is, but there's more than that! His friends just always neglected him. How the fuck would you feel if the people you cared about didn't take you seriously and ignored how you felt?**

**Oh, and let's just get to the topic of Karkat. For those of you who adore the temperamental mutant AND hate Eridan? You're all idiots. Karkat is more of a dick than Eridan ever was, and yet there are so many fangirls squealing over him when he honestly has no reason to be an asshole. You can argue that it's because of his blood color, but with that in mind he STILL has no reason to be a jerk. He's even luckier than Vriska! Why? Because despite being a mutant, he a) acquired a lusus, b) got a shit ton of friends, c) got a moirail that he treats like shit, d) has an adorable girl who pities him even though I want her with Equius so badly, e) gets to be the leader like he wants, and f) gets to outlive all the trolls (with the exception of being killed by Jane, but he was resurrected so I'm not counting it). He has no reason to be upset, while Eridan does, so you people that love Karkat and hate Eridan?**

**Fuck you.**

**Eridan is a very interesting character and deserves more respect than he's given. He followed out his ancestors legacy perfectly by feeding Gl'bgolyb and gaining a blackrom (for a while), which was more than I can say for most trolls. By the way, I'm not saying Karkat is a terrible troll so don't flame me. It was just an example, and it just HAPPENS that he's my least favorite troll. Not a bad troll, just my least favorite. Ok well second least favorite: I just lost all respect for Terezi when she allowed Aranea to heal her. That's beside the point.**

**The people reading this story most likely don't have an issue with Eridan, considering they're reading this… Duh. I guess I'm just writing this because I'm tired of people hating just cause I love Eridan. It's like, I don't go around telling you to shove it just because you like Terezi or something, right? Anyway, thanks for letting me rant, gonna have the update this afternoon. Enjoy these 3 in the morning waffles (/^w^)/ ##**


	9. 2hariing IInnocence

**Wow… I'm not even sure really what to say. I was really expecting to get flamed, but you guys surprised me. Like, I read every word of your super long comments and I swear my heart just burst with happiness. Um shout-outs to TavvyTaurus: it's ok to cuss and rage. Lol I can definitely relate to that, all things considered. Also, don't worry, I won't rage just because you hate Feferi. I really can understand that because for a while I despised her. Then, I don't know, she grew on me. To kiwistickers: that comment is so long, but I'm thrilled I read it all. You have a point with the whole Cronus and sort of Kankri are the worst ones, but I'm guilty of Crotuna as well (obviously). I never got why so many people loved Kankri because seriously, he insults Mituna too. He just covers to up with endless talking, and it made me kinda sad because Mituna doesn't need that shit from either of them. And yet, still shipping. To Masterblader158: that's exactly what I'm talking about! You make an excellent point because I wouldn't wanna stick around with a bunch of people who treat me like shit. Like what the actual fuck? To allyisallama: I love the username, and thank you so much, and I suppose you have a point about Karkat. I guess most of my dislike towards him was because so many fangirls just ran him into the ground. Karkat is like ALL people talk about and it got on my nerves I guess TuT. To Mariah Sarona: you're right about Terezi 100%. I guess she's just at the bottom because I never really got in to her character that much. As far as Gamzee, Kankri, and Vriska goes, we all have our choices for favorite and hated characters, so I won't judge. I don't know, Gamzee has just been my favorite since the beginning and when the old Gamz I knew and loved died (not literally, but you know), I guess I just couldn't let go. So those are my responses to that. Everyone else: CherryEreri (love the name, I ship Levi and Eren so hard), A Person, ishipittillidie, Blossom, Guest, Moonie Stegei, and DarkBlueMahogany? Thank you so much for the support. You guys just make my day and I love the positive feedback I'm getting. You guys are what make writing fanfiction worth it. Besides, fiction is nothing without a fan :o)**

You hang back and chill in the sand, using the discarded shirt as a towel of sorts. Right now you're just waiting on Tuna to come back with those sandwiches, watching the two Ampora's in the meantime. Cronus, who you guess doesn't care about getting his white t-shirt and jeans wet, keeps dunking Eridan underwater. The younger of the two keeps cursing and flailing his arms around in an attempt to strike the eldest, which only makes you chuckle because the sight is just so amusing.

You're not even concerned with Cronus' behavior because a part of you believes Eridan when he says Cronus isn't all that bad. You still don't want him near Tuna, and hate yourself for even temporarily allowing it, but you figure if you're with Tuna and him it won't be so bad. He can't do anything when you're standing right by him and staring him down, can he? You don't think even he'd be so bold.

"Hey Thollux! I got the thandwicheth, can I go play again?"

You turn around and see Mituna holding a plate full of mini sandwiches, sliced into perfect little triangles. He always did have a way with food: yet another trait he received from your mother. He's beaming down at you and extends his hands to offer the plate to you and you know that the second you grab the plate, he's going to sprint into the water and join in on the 'bonding' that Eridan and Cronus are having. The thought upsets you even though you know it's just for fun because it reminds you too much of how people treated him back in Michigan.

But the way he's looking at you, hair brushed back so he can plead with his eyes, and nearly hopping in place tugs at your heart. You can tell that he so badly wants to play, and since you're a considerably good brother, you decide to let him.

"Thure Tuna," you answer, grabbing the plate and setting it on the shirt next to you, "Jutht be careful around that Cronuth guy."

He nods and runs off towards the water, laughing infectiously the whole way. Suddenly, you stop watching Tuna run off. Why? Because you are BECOMING the Tuna running off.

**You are now Mituna.**

As you run, the damp brown hair settles in front of your eyes once more, but you've grown used to that and can see fine. You focus all of your attention of Cronus, mind set on playing with him like last time. You don't mind having the other Ampora there and figure the more the merrier.

"Hey athhatth, gueth who'th back?" you announce, making your presence known as you hop into the water. Cronus stops pushing Eridan's head under the water long enough for the youngest to escape and crawl back to shore, panting heavily as he tried to fill his lungs back up with oxygen. You snicker at him before directing all of your attention back to Cronus, who's crossing his arms and smirking at you for some reason.

"Vwell vwell vwell, vwhere havwe you been babe?" he asks you, using one of those weird nicknames he reserves for you. You don't give it any thought and just smile up at him, jumping around in the water as a means to get closer to your new friend. Once you're a little more than an arm's length away, you poke his chest, which is visible through the soaked white shirt.

"Thollux had me get thandwicheth! But now I'm back so we can play again!" you say happily, continuing to poke his chest out of boredom. He chuckles and watches you, then grabs your wrist and tugs your arm farther down.

"Hovw bout vwe use that hand a' yours in a different vway, champ?" he says, staring down at you with his usual smirk. Once again he's using one of those nicknames, and it makes you laugh. Not to mention the way he talks is super silly. So, completely ignoring his remark about your hand AND how he's making you outline the belt on his jeans, you just move your hair out of you face and gaze up at him.

"You thound like Dracula!" you say with a giggle, and he just frowns and let's go of your hand. You frown when he does, thinking you upset him in some way, which you did.

"You're makin' this really hard for me squirt," he tells you, but you aren't entirely sure what he's talking about.

"What do you mean?" you question, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. He visibly tenses up as his eyes meet yours and you giggle. For some reason, he always did silly things when he stared at your eyes. Was it because they were different?

"Ith there thomething wrong with my eyeth, cauthe you thtare at them a lot," you point out, suddenly feeling really bad about your eyes. People used to make fun of you because of them, and you didn't really like that. Cronus shakes and looks away, and you can tell he's pouting. It makes you smile because Tulip used to do the same thing when she wanted something.

"Nah, they're just distractin' me is all. You should covwer those damn things up," he says, so you do and the smile from earlier disappears. Just another person who didn't like your eyes: you guess you can deal with that. Maybe if you keep them covered, then Cronus will still be your friend! Maybe he'll even pout some more for you, because you aren't sure why, you just know you like to see him pout. Sure, it reminds you of Tulip, but you think it's more than that. It makes you happy and feel like you've won something, and you LOVE winning stuff.

"Hey Cronuth, if I cover my eyeth, then will you thtill thpend time with me? Cauthe I think I'd like that," you tell him, and now you're heart is breaking. Wait a minute, no, that isn't YOUR heart breaking: it's Cronus', but how could you know that Cronus' heart was breaking unless… Oh wait, that's right.

**You are now Cronus.**

As was mentioned earlier, your heart is breaking with every word coming out of these kids mouth. His last statement almost was tugging at your very being, trying to change who you were and how you felt. The thing tugging at you the most was how well it was working. You sigh and look back at the kid, surrendering to his childish charms.

"Hey kid," you start, brushing the light brown hair out of his eyes and looking into them, "stop makin' me feel bad about junk. Let's just go havwe one a' them sandvwiches you made. Who knovws, I might evwen be nice enough to feed one to ya."

Oh c'mon, there's no way you're gonna change THAT much! He immediately brightens up and hugs you, making you blush profusely. He pulls away much too soon for your liking, so you wrap your arms around him and force him back into the hug. He doesn't seem to mind, though, and wraps his own arms around you.

"Doeth thith mean we can thtill be clothe?" he asks in the same way a scared child would. You hold him closer and bury your face in his hair, getting out a muffled 'ya' as you enjoy his scent. Is that weird? Nah, nothing you do is weird: it's just all part of the process. Speaking of the process, you may have ruined it by prolonging this hug. You know you don't want to let go, but you also know it'll make you seem desperate if you go around being all lovey dovey with someone you barely know. Because of this you pull away, planning to end the embrace, but something inside of you makes you take it a step further.

When the two of you are separated enough for you to look at him, you lean forward and kiss his forehead which is SO unlike you it makes you want to vomit: why where you being all sentimental and stuff? The realization that you're reeking with desperation right now hits you, and you pull away completely, bringing a hand up to rub the back of your head nervously.

"Just don't go changin' twerp," you tell him before walking away to get a sandwich. Dear GOD that was embarrassing, and you're not sure if you're prepared to look him in the eyes again. Those things just did stuff to ya. You sit next to your moron of a brother and smack him in the back of the head, enjoying the little yelp that escaped his lips. So fucking pathetic, you swear. You laugh and grab one of the sandwiches, not bothering to admire how good it looks because you just aren't that kind of guy.

Mituna sits between his brother and you so that you're all arranged in a circular type shape thingy with the plate in the center. You avoid looking at Mituna, fearful that his eyes might be showing. You bring the sandwich to your mouth and take a small nibble when something sweet envelopes your taste buds. What the fuck: honey? Why was there honey on a ham sandwich? More importantly, why did it taste so good?

You cram the rest of the sandwich into your mouth, grabbing a second and stuffing it in afterwards. Next to you Mituna giggles, and you lose all the self-control that was preventing you from looking at him. You turn towards him and, thankfully, his eyes are completely covered. This means you can advance without worrying about stupid feelings like remorse and any desire of the non-sexual kind. You grab a third sandwich, remembering what you said to him earlier, and lift in too his lips.

"Here ya go doll: a sandvwich vwith honey that's almost as svweet as you," you say with a wink, and he giggles. Sollux just glares at you, and you can here your brother groan beside you, but you don't care because that was such a good line. You deserve a pat on the back for that, or even better, a kiss from this cute little boy. You'd prefer the latter of the two.

Mituna opens up his mouth wide and leans his head forward, swallowing the entire sandwich and half of your hand whole. You gulp and watch him pull the sandwich from your fingers, leaving a bit of his spit on the digits. It takes every ounce of self-control you have not to suck on those fingers right not. You make a mental note to do that later. For now, you sit and watch, astonished that he fit the entire thing length-wise in his mouth without gagging, and THEN some!

He chews the sandwich without a care in the world, swallowing it and smiling at you expectantly. You do your best to cover the shock on your face with an arrogant smirk, lacing metaphorical honey on the next words out of your mouth. This right here was the final straw, your last shot at bagging this kid.

"Vwell, I vwonder hovw much more you can fit in that pretty little mouth of yours," you say, to which he shrugs and his brother's glare magnifies, but you don't care: you're gonna finish strong, "Maybe you an' I could hang out some time together and practivwe vwith somethin' vway better than a sandvwich."

And then that nerd's fist connects with you face. You lean in the opposite direction from the force, then turn and mirror Sollux's glare. Eridan face palms before getting in front of Sollux, probably in an attempt to shield him because he knows what's coming. You straighten yourself out and swing your left fist back, seeing as you're left handed and all, preparing to go through Eridan to get to the lisping douche behind him.

Then you feel two small hands gripping your fist and soft lips meeting your own, calming any anger you had towards Sollux. Your eyes widen in shock because Mituna Captor, the adorable boy you've been trying to get with, was kissing you for REAL this time and holding you back. Now, you're not very bright, but you know an opportunity when you see one, so you bring your right hand up to the back of his head and deepen the kiss. You close your eyes and kiss back, much harder than you'd intended because part of you was afraid he would try to back out.

You feel something slide along your tongue and gladly part your lips, allowing his tongue to explore the wet cavern. When the two tongues meet, they clash and battle for dominance, but you're too surprised to put up a good fight and just allow him to take control. He's a bit sloppy, but you don't care and take everything he gives you. Then he pulls away and you give out an embarrassing whine. He frees your left hand, and you're quick to brush the hair out of his eyes just so you can get a glimpse of those beautiful mismatched orbs that sparkled with child-like joy. You find yourself changing your mind completely because now, you don't want to take this boy's innocence: you want to be consumed by it.

**You are now Eridan.**

You aren't entirely sure what to do in this situation. Behind you, Sollux is seething, but there's nothing you can do about it. What's done is done: Cro and Tuna kissed. You turn around completely and stare at Sollux, who's looking past you and at your brother with a murderous gaze. You chuckle and grasp his hand, successfully earning his attention.

"Let go of me shit thponge! I have to do thomething before-"

"Before wwhat?" you counter, not seeing the problem with your brothers hooking up, "They're happy Sol. Do you really wwanna be the reason things don't wwork betwween them?"

You can see the turmoil going on inside of your crush, the emotions displayed on his face clear as day as he comes to terms with things. You just watch with a smile, gazing into his eyes dreamily and accessing every detail of his gorgeous chest. He isn't muscular like you or Cro, and he's a bit on the pale side, but you can't seem to tear your gaze from it. The nerd has you hooked and he doesn't even realize it.

"I gueth your right ED, I jutht… I'm thcared for him," he admits, staring at the shirt beneath him. You turn to check on them and see that they're already heading back into the water, a joyful Tuna dragging along a dazed Cro. You chuckle, deciding that you like seeing Cro all confused and in love: it suits him. You turn back to Sol and squeeze his hand reassuringly, doing your best to calm him down. You don't enjoy it when he's moody, which is almost all the time. If only he could open up a bit more like last night…

"Hey ED, what'th wrong?"

You look into his eyes, tearing your gaze from his chest, and smile warmly because he was actually worried about you. The thought makes you blush as you let go of his hand and sit right next to him, shoulders brushed up against each other and everything.

"Nothin' just thinkin' bout stuff," you tell him, playfully bumping into his side. He laughs and retaliates with a bump of his own, giving you goosebumbs because his laugh was just so enchanting.

"Oh really?" he jokes, resting his hand on your thigh, "I didn't think that brain of yourth wath capable of thomething tho complex."

You chuckle nervously, eyes boring into the back of Sol's hand. Did he realize he was even touching you?

"Oh can it nerd. Just cause I ain't a dwweeb like you doesn't mean I ain't able to think," you say back, barely even focusing on the conversation anymore because his hand is STILL there!

"ED, would you thtop thtaring at my damn hand. If you don't, I'm moving it."

Needless to say, you immediately stop staring at his hand. Instead you watch the older boys in the water: Cro giving Tuna a piggy back ride, Tuna licking Cro's face to annoy him, Cro getting upset and splashing the hell out of Tuna. You sigh, day dreaming that maybe you and Sol can have that too.

**Sorry for any typos or OOCness. As always, R&R c:**


	10. Liife at the AmpHORROR Hou2e

You're currently walking home with your brother, Cro. You just had one of the best days of your life with your new friends, and you know Cro did too, even if he won't admit it. The two of you opt to walk in silence, because you know what you have to go home to, and as the small yellow house comes in to view Cro visibly cringes. You would too, had it not been for the promise of escape later tonight.

When you approach the house, the screen door is already open so the two of you just walk right in, being as silent as possible because maybe he won't hear you. Maybe he won't realize you're home, and the two of you can slip right upstairs to your rooms without any trouble.

"Hey there you little shits, where the fuck have you been!?"

Well, it was still a hopeful thought. You and Cro keep your heads down, worried that a wrong answer might get you hit. Apparently, NOT answering at all gets you a beer bottle to the head and glass shards embedded into your skull. You cry out and stumble backwards, but maintain your standing position because you know if you fall to the ground you'll only get more punishment. You look your brother expectantly, but he just frowns and looks away, leaving you to deal with this on your own as he side steps and avoids eye contact. You can't really blame him.

"I said where the fuck have you two been!" he yells again, right in your fucking ear and all you want is to cry. To just go into your room and cry yourself to sleep because your head is bleeding and your dad is an asshole. Regardless, you straighten your posture and look straight ahead.

"Wwe wwere by the ocean sir," you tell him, trying to keep the stutter out of your voice. He chuckles, which is never a good sign, and looks over at Cro.

"Now, don't lie to your dear ole dad like that. I looked out the window, and you brats weren't there. Tell me Cronus, me' boy, where were ya?" he asks, and a part of you is thankful he isn't talking to you anymore. Now he's standing in front of Cro, while the other does his best to pretend he doesn't know his dad is right there. Your dad doesn't like this, though, and sneers at you.

"Eridan son, get your piece of shit brother's attention for me," he tells you, and you know he wants you to hit him. He wants you to beat him up and spit in his fucking face, but you won't, you refuse to do it. Cro might be willing to betray you to save his own ass, but you will never do that, and never have. You glare at your dad, which earns you a snarl.

"I wwon't do it… Sir," you quickly add, hoping that the title of respect will help some: it doesn't. His fist connects with your jaw, and as you try to recover he pulls out his favorite pocket knife. You're certain that he's going to cut you, but then he gives it to Cro instead.

"Looks like you're the only son with any balls, so you do it. Make your daddy proud you worthless cunt," he tells him, patting him on the shoulder as encouragement. Cro looks at you pleadingly, eyes begging for your forgiveness, but it's unnecessary because he already has it. You will never blame him for what he does because it's not his fault he's weak: it's not his fault he's scared.

"Go ahead Cro, I wwon't blame you," you tell him, and the sorrow in his eyes transforms into something much more sinister. He throws the knife to the floor and looks your dad straight it the eye, asserting dominance.

"I ain't gonna do it chief. By the vway, you're a really shitty father."

Just like that, the whole fucking world just stops. It was bad enough your brother said no, but calling Dad shitty was just taking things too far. There was no way he'd be getting out of this without losing blood. Your dad smiles, another TERRIBLE sign, and picks up the knife.

"Eridan, go to your room. Your brother an' I are gonna have a nice little chat," he says, and you know there will be no chatting going on. You nod though, and walk up stairs to your bathroom to clean the wound on your head. Thankfully, the glass didn't get very deep, but it still hurt like a motherfucker.

**You are now Cronus.**

You're a fucking idiot. That's the only thought running through your mind as you watch Eridan disappear up the stair case. Your dad is quick, holding the knife to your throat the second your brother is gone, and you can't even swallow without digging your skin into the blade.

"You think you're brave? Do you think you're COOL by saying that boy? Cause let me just tell you you're not. You're nothing but scum, and that's all you'll ever be," he grumbles, pulling the knife away and slashing the skin near your temple. You wince and bring a hand up to cover the wound, but he's already done with that attack and putting the knife back in his pocket, wrapping a meaty hand around your throat and choking you.

Your father was a very strong man, and picked you up by your neck. You bring your hands up in an attempt to pry his hands from your throat, but he doesn't let up and your air waves are blocked off. You're going to die at the hand of your dad. That's always how you figured you'd go, but not so soon. You feel like your lungs are collapsing and just as the scenery starts to fade away, he lets go and tosses you against the stove.

He walks over to you and grabs you by the hair, pulling your head back and oh dear god he's turning on the stove! He presses your head towards the burner that's on and you fight back with all the strength you can muster. There was no way it HELL he was burning your bread and butter! You punch him in the gut and turn the stove off, taking this opportunity to escape to your room. It locked and was your only sanctuary in this hell hole you called a home, but Dad was quick and grabbed your hair again, pulling you back and banging your head against the handle to the oven. You cry out as you try to think of some way to get away when you see it: a think shard of glass from his bear bottle.

You scurry over to it and wrap your hand around it, ignoring how it cut into your skin. You can sense him approaching and turn around, slicing his face with the glass. He groans and takes a step back, to which you repeat the action and slice him again. He growls at you, so you toss the glass as his face as a distraction and abscond to your room, locking the door behind you and moving your dresser in front of the door. Within minutes there's loud banging on the door, and you know he's trying to get in, but you don't care.

You just curl up on your bed shaking and LAUGHING because you actually fought back and won.


	11. Yay for 2loppy Makeout2

You glance at your phone and check the time: 10:05. Why was it he got to be late while insisting you be punctual? The nerve of some people, you swear. Oh well, at least you don't have to be at home. You haven't seen Cro or Dad after being sent upstairs, and honestly, you don't want to. You're pretty sure Dad left to go to a bar or something, and you know Cro went into his bedroom, but… You didn't have the gull to go talk to him. You just wanted out, but you'd make sure to thank him later.

You're currently wearing a purple t-shirt with an EXTREMELY deep V, your thick rimmed glasses, black tennis shoes, some cologne, and black skinny jeans, each article of clothing showing off how well-toned your body was. It revealed a couple bruises, but Sol already knew, so it wasn't a big deal. In fact, it might get you a pity hug, which sounds pathetic, but you'll take what you can get. You did your best to look good, spending an extra-long time on styling your hair just the way you love it. You hope it doesn't seem TOO obvious though, because you don't want him to laugh at you. He laughs at you enough as it is.

You hear rustling behind you and turn to see the very boy you dressed up for who looks sexy as FUCK! He was wearing a button up white shirt with the top half of the buttons undone, much to your arous- Er, amusement. He was also wearing a pair of loose jeans that hugged his hips perfectly, and a mismatched pair of shoes: one white, and one black. His hair was soaking wet and less messy than usual, which means he actually tried to comb through it for YOU! The thought makes you blush, and you're suddenly thankful it's dark out. Unfortunately, he was also wearing those retarded 3D glasses that prevent you from seeing those gorgeous eyes of his. Ugh, you thought he discarded those!

"Hey ED, been waiting long?" he asks with a grin and you swoon. How was it that this nerd could tug at your heart strings so easily? You briefly wonder if you do the same to him, then discard the thought with a shake of your head because of COURSE you don't. He's probably not even gay. You figure that you should find out before you make any more moves on him.

"Wwhere the fuck havve you been Sol?" you ask, feigning annoyance. He just chuckles and approaches you all slow like and you can't help but stare at the way his hips sway as he walks. He stands at your side and drapes an arm over your shoulders, leaning in until his lips are grazing against your ear and his hair is dripping onto your shoulder.

"Rubbing thoap all over my naked body while thinking of a certain fag I know," he whispers and even the darkness can't hide your blush as it literally consumes your cheeks. You let your mind wander to what he may have been thinking about that involved you, since you were no doubt the fag he was referring to. He did hint that he was in the shower, so maybe...

"I did a little rethearch and dithcovered that there'th a park about ten minuteth that way," he says, removing his arm and pointing in the opposite direction of your homes, "Tho ED, you up for it?"

You frown at the loss of contact and think about your options. You could say no and risk him leaving without you, or you could say yes and risk somebody seeing you acting foolish. You decide the latter choice is the preferred one because it allows you to spend more time with Sol.

"Wwhatevver, let's just get this ovver wwith, cause I ain't no baby," you say, hoping to sound indifferent. He laughs and starts walking towards your destination, giving you an excellent view of his ass. You make sure to remain at least three feet behind him so you can discreetly stare at it as it sways. Does he even realize how much of a tease he is?

"Hey Sol," you say after about three minutes of silent walking, "wwhat's your girlfriend like?"

You hope that wasn't too obvious and anxiously await a response while fiddling with the crevice of your V-neck, eyes never leaving his bottom.

"What maketh you think I have a girlfriend," he counters, and you can hear the grin in his voice, the bastard: he was gonna make you work for it.

"I don't knoww, I just figured," you reply, seeming uninterested. If he won't give you what you want, then you won't give HIM what he wants. Two can play at this game.

"Jutht tho you know, I don't have one, tho there'th no reathon to be jealouth ED," he assures you, and you scoff in an attempt to seem offended.

"Me? Jealous? In your dreams nerd! It wwas just a question, don't twwist it into somethin' wweird!" you say, raising your voice just the slightest bit. He laughs and flips you off as he walks.

"Be careful Sol, I may just accept the invvitation," you tease, deciding that flirting was ok now that you know he's not dating a chick.

"Oh really?" he teases right back, "That'th exactly what I'm counting on."

Oh god you can't even. You remain silent the rest of the way, allowing him to win this round because you honestly have nothing else to say. Well, there are a couple things, but you doubt they'd be appropriate and you'd probably regret saying them. So after four minutes of silence and ass staring, the park finally comes into view. You wonder how you were unaware of this place even though you've been living here far longer than him. Fucking nerds, always being smarter than you and knowing more stuff about stupid junk.

It's admittedly a nice park, fully equipped with a swing set, slide, jungle gym, monkey bars, and one of those puzzle things where the kids can play Tic Tac Toe and give their parents a break. Despite this, you don't really understand why Sollux wanted to come here so badly. You were both fifteen: you weren't supposed to play at parks anymore. It was embarrassing!

And yet, when he climbs the stairs to the slide with child-like amusement, you can't help but smile and watch as he glides down, feet pressing against the wood chips below. You laugh at him, but a part of you kind of wants to let go and play too. Then he's tugging on your hand and forcing you over to the jungle gym, letting go and climbing to the top. Needless to say, you're staring at his ass the entire time because damn, for a scrawny nerd he had an AMAZING ass. How could you NOT stare?

"Get your ath up here already!" he shouts, and you sort of want to tell him to get his in your lap, but you don't and proceed to climb. Once you reach the top you act uninterested, sit next to him, and turn your face away, tensing up as his hand cups your cheek.

**You are now Sollux.**

He didn't think you'd notice, did he? That you wouldn't see the brownish-purpleish bruise blooming on the side of his face near his jaw line? Why, because it was dark out? Fucking moron hipster…

"What happened ED?" you ask with mild irritation. Not directed towards him, of course, but towards whoever did this, and you're pretty sure you know who. He shies away some more and raises his hand to toy with the collar of his V-neck.

"It wath Cronuth, wathn't it? I thwear to god I'm going to-"

"It wwasn't Cro dammit! He… He stuck up for me and he… He got punished for it…," he trails off, but at least now he's looking at you. You frown because then it hits you: if Cronus didn't do it, that meant his dad did.

"I'll fucking kill him…," you say, pouring whatever conviction you have left into that single sentence. He chuckles and looks you in the eyes, or at least tries. You suddenly feel like a huge asshole for hiding the eyes that he admired so much, and remove the cheap glasses because at least you can do that much for him. His grin widens and he leans his face into your hand, reminding you that holy shit, you haven't moved it yet. You jerk it away and laugh nervously, worried he'll think you're an idiot or something.

"Hey Sol… Wwould you be ok wwith me doin' somethin' strange?" he asks, and you can't help but wonder what he wants. Not just that, but why does he always sound so unsure when he asks you things?

"Thure ED," you say, then add, "You don't have to be tho thcared to athk me thingth you know? I don't bite… Hard."

You wink and he giggles, just like when you awoke to see him hovering over you. You grin to reveal your canines, but not in a defensive way. More like so he knows you're sincere, if that makes any sense. Your eyes drift down to the marks on his chest, visible because of that dip in his shirt that you kind of enjoyed, then even lower to take note of how those jeans seriously hugged his body. His muscular legs were fucking sculpted in those things, but the part that really got your attention was how the pants made his bulge much more prominent. Skinny jeans just sort of did that to guys, so you aren't entirely sure why he wears them, but you're not complaining: it's a nice view, and you're VERY pleased with the size.

Wait, why would you be? You're not gay, right? At least, you've never taken any interest in men… But, dick size aside, Eridan wasn't much of a man in your opinion. He looked like one, like the IDEAL kind of man, but the way he acted around you screamed feminine. So maybe liking him that way doesn't necessarily mean you like men? Dear god you hope so.

"So evven if I do this… Things wwon't change, right?" he asks, to which you nod because what reason do you have to disagree? You don't even know what he's going to do. He gulps and scoots closer to you, looking everywhere but at you, then grabs you hand with his. Your fingers instinctively wrap around his as he turns to finally look at you, then closes his eyes and puckers his lips awkwardly while leaning in.

You almost laugh at how awkward he's being, but control yourself because you that if you laugh, he'll think you're rejecting him. In all actuality, he's moving way to slow for your liking, so you decide to speed this up a bit and lean forward the rest of the way. Your lips connect with his and you can hear him moan at your touch, boney fingers gripping black locks held securely in place with gel. You let go of his hand and place the now free hand against the small of his back, pressing him closer to you.

Then his tongue glides across your bottom lip and you know he wants more: and who were you to refuse? You part you lips, hardly paying attention to the fact that he's pressing you down and your body is laying uncomfortably against the metal bars. Parts of your body dip where the holes of the jungle gym are, but you can't find it in you to care because he just won. Your tongues clashed together, but his won and now HE was dominating you. The same girly man you thought of as feminine was taking control of this: how the fuck did that even work?

He pulls away and YOU whine, which sort of pisses you off. He's just smirking down at you and running a hand along the side of your face, using the other to prop himself up on a bar. His eyes hold a certain sparkle that allures you like crazy, but when you try to pull him back down for another kiss he refuses and frowns.

"Sol, I need to knoww somethin'… Do you like me… That wway?" he asks, looking adorable as he tugs on his bottom lip with his teeth. You sigh and roll your eyes because wasn't it obvious?

"Are you thtupid or thomething? Duh, I like you THAT way. Why elthe would I kith you?" you point out, to which to nods.

"Good point I guess," he replies, probably feeling really fucking retarded right now. You shift in place, the bars digging into your body and making you very aware of how uncomfortable this is.

"Hey ED, thith hurtth like a bitch. Can we make out on thothe thtairth or thomething?" you ask, and he just laughs and sits up.

"Such a divva," he teases while climbing down. You follow until both of you are sitting together on the stairs. Let the making out commence!

**More fluff will be featured in the next chapter, and much more detailed making out! Might change rating to M and add some smut… I don't know, what do you all think? Smut, or no smut. THAT is the question. Also, should there be CroTuna smut as well? I don't know. OH! That reminds me. Starting in September, I'll be doing the whole oneshot a day thing. One for every day of the month! You guys can send requests and stuff for what shipping you want in any quadrant, so that should be fun c: Anyway, my sister is forcing me to play a game with her, so ciao for now!**


	12. Cronu2' 2weet Liittle Bumblebee

**Sorry for taking so long to update (Can a day and a half even be considered a long time? Feels like it sometimes.) but I had things to take care of. Cleaning, getting ready to start high school (not looking forward to that but I did get an Usa-chan backpack so it's all chill), and cooking. The update after this probably won't be here until Saturday cause I have things to do Friday. Oh well, here's what our lovely Cronus has been doing starting from after Eridan leaves. Ladies and gentlemen, whores and sluts. Step right up: behind this curtain is where all your fantasies come to life. This is a place where you can escape. Welcome to… THE CAPTOR HOUSE! Warning: fluff ensues c:**

**You are now Cronus.**

You jolt awake at the sound of the front door slamming, meaning your dad would be heading out. Your head throbs and you groan because everything just hurts so much right now. You sit up and force yourself out of bed, looking in the mirror against your wall. The cut near your temple is caked in dry blood and looks infected and you know that, despite how fucking attractive you are, that thing is seriously going to ruin your game. Not that that even matters anymore, since you're pretty sure you're in a relationship now. Relationships and you don't really like each other all that much, but hey, you'll try anything for that kid.

Suddenly that kid is occupying all your thoughts and the pain enveloping your body doesn't even come close to grasping your attention. What WAS it about that boy? You feel something strange on your face and raise a hand to dab at it: it's wet, and when you look back in the mirror you conclude that it's a tear which is strange because you DON'T cry. That's just never happened, but the more you think of how Tuna isn't here with you right now, the more tears fall down your cheeks. What the fuck?

You growl at your reflection and wipe the damned things away, turning away from the mirror and deciding that you were going to fix this. You run over to your dresser and grab a pair of purple boxers, a pair of baggy denim jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and some socks. You storm around your room and grab the things you'll need: a duffel bag, your leather jacket, a box of cigarettes, your comb, some hair gel, a lighter, and some swimming trunks. You shove the items in the duffel bag and you're about to move the dresser out of the way so you can leave when you hear a door open. You look over your shoulder at the time: 9:45. Your brother was the only one home, but where would he be going?

You lean against the dresser with your bag in hand and listen: shuffling, the closing of a bedroom door, more shuffling, the opening of the front door, then it's shutting. You shrug and push the dresser out of the way and open your door, walk through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the downstairs bathroom. You grab your toothbrush and shove it in the bag. Deciding that you're ready, you exit through the back door and glance at the driveway: no car. Satisfied, you make your way towards the Captor house: towards Tuna.

After about five minutes of walking you're at the Captor house. To your left you see that Sollux kid, walking away from his house and towards the woods. Not really in the mood to care, you sling the bag over your shoulder coolly and knock on the screen door. There's some shuffling, and then a man with dark brown hair, glasses, and a small beard opens the door. He's just wearing boxers and a T-shirt, so you know he was about to go to bed, but again: not caring.

"Ay there chief, is Tuna here?" you ask casually like you've known this guy for ages. He squints and his eyes access you: up and down, judging you just like parents were prone to do. You grin arrogantly and look at him from an angle, to which he laughs. Dear god Captors are fucking weird. You're a little worried that he won't let you in, which would suck cause you'd even gone so far as to NOT smoke! Yet.

"Ya he's here, and who are you? The leading role in Grease?" he snorts at his own joke and you frown, losing your cool. Just who did this guy think he was? After his laughter dies down, he smiles warmly at you, which disgusts you because it reminds you of Sollux. In fact, this guy didn't look all that much like Mituna. Weird.

"Seriously though, who are you and how do you know my son?" he asks, more serious this time. You shrug nonchalantly, getting back into the drift of being you without feeling awkward and upset.

"Name's Cronus, and I'm Mituna's…," you ponder on how you should answer this, settling on, "Friend."

The man nods and steps out of the way to let you in. He tells you to wait in the kitchen while he gets Mituna, so you just close the screen door behind you and lean against the wall to the left of the door. It's a neat little kitchen that kind of looks like yours, with a black stove, a greyish microwave with green little numbers on it for the time, a white fridge, and a white dinner table. That last part was different: you don't have a dining table at your house. Or that fancy dishwasher. Your dad just made you and Eridan hand wash em, which SUCKED.

You can see the living room from here which is the same size as yours, but everything is much nicer. They have an actual COUCH, not just a recliner for Dad only, and a much better TV. Then there was that fancy little doodad that sort of extended off the couch, a chase you think it's called. This house was fucking nice, and you're pretty sure they're rich. Or at least, richer than you.

You sigh in boredom, done with admiring their house which was so much better than yours. You here footsteps approaching and your gaze drifts towards the stairs, watching first that man round the corner and then Tuna. He looks absolutely stunning right now in those little yellow pajamas with the chibi bees on them, hair all ruffled and covering his adorable little face. He's wearing the cutest little panda slippers and holding a stuffed bee underneath his arm. He's dressed for bed, but doesn't look tired at all which pleases you: you don't want to be rude after all.

He looks at you, you think, and the half of his face you CAN see lights up. He smiles brightly and runs towards you, jumping up and making you drop the bag, wrapping his arms around your neck and hanging from it. You lean forward a bit, not anticipating all the weight on your neck, but adjust and wrap your arms around his back. He giggles and kisses your neck and the breath hitches in your throat. His dad quirks an eyebrow, but he's still smiling so you guess this is a good thing? You stop staring wide eyed at his dad and look fondly at Tuna, who's kicking his legs in the hair excitedly.

"So, just his friend huh?"

Your eyes dart back up to Tuna's dad and you just kind of freeze right there because fuck you've been found out. You chuckle nervously and rub the back of your head, holding Mituna with the other. You're about to say something like 'ya he's just an affectionate twerp' but then Mituna kisses your lips and pretty much ruins any chance you have at blowing this off. It's his DAD'S turn to widen his eyes and he just sort of stares, watching you two as Tuna gets off of you and grabs your bag.

"Come on idiot!" he cheers before grabbing your wrist with his free hand and tugging you towards the stairs. When you brush past his dad you gulp and avoid eye contact, thankful once you reach the stairs. You don't even look back or trust yourself to stop running until you're safe in Tuna's room, slamming the door behind you out of habit because you're pretty sure his dad is stomping up here to hit you. You brace yourself for the inevitable banging on the door, but when it doesn't come you have to remind yourself: this isn't home. In fact, it's better.

Tuna throws your stuff on his bed, which is decorated with even more freaking bees. What was UP with this kid and bees? His walls are bright purple though, and you remember that they probably haven't gotten a chance to paint the house yet. In a week or too, those walls will probably be bees too. He pulls on you again, snapping you back to the here and now, and drags you to the bed. He lets go and jumps on the bed, face planting with the comforter and you just chuckle and sit on the edge of the bed.

He retracts back up and grabs a remote, turning on the TV and oh c'mon, he even has a TV in his ROOM? He turns to come cartoon you remember from when Eridan was eleven called Adventure Time. You eye the familiar yellow dog and weirdly drawn human boy, but then decide that if this is what Tuna wants to watch, you'll watch it too. He leans back into his pillow and brings his knees against his chest, clutching that stuffed bee for dear life.

Then he turns towards you, still sitting at the edge of the bed awkwardly. The only time you're in somebody's bed is to fuck, so this is a bit surreal. He brushes the hair from his face and blinks at you in confusion. You raise an eyebrow before he grabs your arm, pulling you closer to him and practically making you lay right by him. Then he places the bee in his right hand and snuggles into your chest, grabbing your arm and making you put it around him. More than a little shocked, you stare at the boy, but he's already got his eyes glued back on the TV. You sigh and ruffle his fluffy hair, then pull him closer and watch the stupid kiddy show.

"I really like you," he randomly says, still focused on the cartoon. You smile at the confession, because you know that from anyone else, that statement would mean absolutely nothing, but from him it meant the absolute world. Maybe you're bedroom wasn't the only escape you had from that shitty thing you called a life?

"Ya vell, I like ya too tverp."

**Vwha-lah!**


	13. Won't Let Hiim Go Home

**You are now Eridan.**

The moment you sit on the edge of the stairs, he's pushing you back and pressing his body against yours. He presses his lips to yours and you eagerly part them, anxious as he delves his tongue inside to meet yours. Your tongues glide across each other blissfully, comfortingly, and you know that this is the best day of your life by far. You aren't very experienced with this sort of thing, only ever having one girlfriend who made you rethink your sexuality COMPLETELY. Her name was Feferi, and she was the first person you ever loved. First person you ever hugged, kissed, made out with, made LOVE to, but she wound up dumping you because you were too needy and she couldn't handle it anymore. Then Fef wound up dating some asshole named Troi and you haven't talked since.

But right now, in this moment, as Sol dips down to place sweet kisses on all of your bruises, you're sort of happy she left you. The incident at home washes away with the ocean waves and this area that used to be an escape was more than that: it was heaven, and Sol was your angel. Your moody, lisping little angel who took you into his heart and away from all the pain. Away from your house, your dad, your fears. You wish the two of you could remain like this forever, just run away and leave all of your problems behind, but there's no way you'd ever leave Cro. What he did for you today… Not only has it never happened, but it really struck something deep inside you.

"Earth to athhole! Why are you fucking smiling like that?"

You look at Sol in confusion, then it hits you: you must've been staring off. Welp, this is embarrassing. You chuckle in an effort to brush it off, but he sits up and straddles you, making it clear that you won't be getting any more sweets until you offer an explanation that's to his liking.

"I wwas just thinkin' bout howw amazin' my life has been gettin'," you admit, and even with just the moonlight you can tell he's blushing. Then he scoffs and rolls his eyes, bending over again to tend to your neck, which he's determined to cover in love bites. You grin at his little act of indifference because that was just SO like him to do that: deny the blush and pretend that his heart wasn't aflutter. You yelp as he bites into the sensitive spot of your neck, and you just know he broke the skin. Then he's licking the mark greedily, kissing it all better once he's done.

"There. I don't know how to make thothe thtupid hickie thingth, tho I jutht bit you. Now no one will fucking touch you," he says with mild irritation, and you can sense a twinge of jealousy behind those words. You laugh because he didn't have anything to worry about: nobody else wanted you.

"Relax Sol, ain't nobody interested in me," you console, but it seems that the truth only upset him more. He growls and reveals those canines that you're sure he used to bite into your skin.

"Why the hell not?" he starts, and you sigh because he just ALWAYS did this. One minute everything with him would be peachy, and the next he's getting all upset about something trivial. Luckily for him, you know just how to deal with this and wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down with you and pressing your lips to his. He murmurs something against them, but doesn't pull away. Instead he lets his body fall flush onto yours and you're back to making out, this time without the battle for dominance. This time you just enjoy the feel of the others tongue, how at-home you feel exploring the others mouth.

You feel something stir down south and moan, reaching your hands up his shirt and clawing down his back. He groans hotly and you tug his tongue into your mouth, massaging it with your own and soaking up every little sound he makes. You grind your hips against his and are disappointed when he pulls away, biting his lip and looking away. You pout and bring your hands to his face, turning it towards you and searching for his gaze. He doesn't provide you with it, although he does provide a reason for backing out.

"Look ED, I really like you, and I'll admit I've thought about it, but I'm not really ready for… That. Ethpecially after jutht a couple dayth, not to mention I'm only fifteen," he confesses, and you frown. Not because he doesn't want to make love, but because you were rude enough to try and initiate it. You never took into consideration that not all people your age have had sex. In fact, you were one of the few. You suppose it doesn't help when you're growing up with Cro, who turns almost everything into something sexual. You wouldn't be surprised if he already lured that Tuna kid into his bedroom with honey stuck to his…

Ok we're ending that thought RIGHT now! Do NOT imagine your brother with honey anywhere on him, ever. You succeed to do this, and focus back on the situation at hand.

"Oh cod, I'm really sorry…," you say, cheeks burning red with shame. His eyes finally meet yours and he snickers, then while straddling your lap again he presses his forehead against yours.

"You know that your dick ith prething into my ath, right?" he asks and your eyes dart downwards instinctively. You push him off and scoot a little bit away, toying with the belt loop on your jeans and smiling like a dork.

**You are now Sollux.**

You suppose you should take some pity on him: it wasn't HIS fault you were so damn attractive. You laugh and grab his hand, pulling him off the platform and on to his feet.

"Wwhere are wwe goin' noww?" he questions worriedly, but you just remain silent and tug him away from the park, through the wooded area, and along the beach until you're both standing in front of the screen door leading into your kitchen. He asks what you're doing here, but you ignore him still and open the door, dragging him into the kitchen with you. Truth be told, you don't want Eridan going home tonight after seeing the new addition to his bruises, so you've planned on letting him stay with you.

You dart your eyes around the kitchen and living room, searching for your dad who is luckily nowhere to be seen. You shut the screen door, then yank Eridan through the rooms and up the stairs, opening the door to your room and practically tossing him in as you carefully shut the door behind you. You face him to see him pouting, crossing his arms and glaring at you, but you just chuckle warmly because he has no clue how cute he looks like that.

"One more time: wwhy am I here?" he asks, trying for an answer a third time.

"Becauthe I don't want you going home," you put simply, walking over to your computer to work on that game for you and Karkat. You glance at your phone, which is lit up like the fucking Fourth of July. You check to see who the sender of these seven messages are, even though you know. Eeyup, it's Karkat. You figure he can wait one more day and set the phone down, starting up your computer and preparing for another long night of programming.

"Soooooooooooooool!"

You blanche, but don't turn to face him because you really need to get this done. Then you can sense him beside you, SEE him out of your peripheral vision, and he just looks so sexy you almost face him: almost.

"Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!"

You groan and swivel your chair a bit in a huff, narrowing your eyes at him when suddenly you remember something: you left your 3D glasses at that park. Hell you're an idiot! And HE was even more of an idiot because that asshole was only wearing boxer shorts: What. A. Dick.

"What the fuck do you want ED?" you hiss, to which he just smiles like a dope. Why was he like that? And why did you like it? Ugh, feelings.

"I wwanna cuddle!" he whines, to which you groan again and turn your attention back to the computer. Then he's twisting the damned chair and scooping you up in his arms, replacing your spot in the chair and positioning you so that you're sitting in his lap. He wraps his arms around your waist and buries his face in the crook of your neck, nibbling the skin and mumbling sweet nothings. You moan a little, but quickly put yourself back together and focus on the computer screen. The two of you remain like this until four in the morning, with him providing little assurances of his feelings and you pretending like you don't notice until finally he hear him yawn. Thinking that he's going to go to bed so you finish this, you grin triumphantly: nobody could outlast you when it came to staying up late.

Wait a minute, why is he picking you up again, and why isn't he setting you back in the chair? Instead he's carrying you to the bed, placing you down gently and wrapping himself around your form from behind.

"Let me go athhole!" you seethe, squirming against his hold. Then he kisses your cheek and you freeze.

"Wwe're goin' to bed, so get ovver yourself," he says, snuggling closer against you. You grunt and except the closeness, if just barely.

"Ugh," you say, just so he knows you're irritated.

"Nyeh," he says, just so you know he doesn't give a fuck.

**Relax, the NYEH'S ARE A ONE TIME THING! Lol it just made me laugh XD Alright so this story will REMAIN RATED T! There will be no smut between either couple. If you want smut, I'll be working on a oneshot for each shipping that includes smut. I have no guarantee for when that will be done, so please hang in there, Thanks to all of you and you're continued support, you guys are all just amazing and make writing this completely worth it TuT Waffles and hugs for all! \(TuT)/ and (/^w^)/ ##########**


	14. A Not 2o Happy Famiily Reuniion

**Wow 42 reviews… I freaking love you guys. That's the most reviews I've ever gotten on a story! I have good news for those of you who want CroTuna smut: it's 100% done! Sorry it took so long and that I haven't undated for a couple days, but I was at my friends with my sister and she freaking gave us lice, then after we got rid of that my mom got the flu and now me and my sister have THAT. Still super sick, and it sucks, but that doesn't mean I can just lay around all day. So for the first time ever, we're going to be somebody we haven't been before: Sollux/Mituna's dad! Yay for us!**

**You are now Simon.**

You're alarm goes off at 9 am and coaxes you out of your sleep, but you're used to this, what with being an adult and all. You calmly turn the damned thing off and get dressed in a button down blue shirt, a pair of jeans, and some tennis shoes. You grab your comb off the nightstand and do your best to manage your dark brown hair before exiting your room and walking downstairs. You open the fridge and take out the eggs, deciding to make breakfast for you and your sons, plus one guest. You turn on the stove and get out a skillet, setting it out the burner and cracking an egg.

You repeat these actions until you have ten eggs over easy stacked on top of a paper plate. What can you say? You really like your eggs. You open up the cupboard and grab an unopened bottle of honey. It's one of those cute little bottles in the shape of a bear that you buy simply because Mituna loves them. Speaking of Mituna, now that the food is done, you should probably go upstairs and wake everyone up. First, you make a pit stop in the downstairs bathroom and grab two of Mituna's pills and fill a small paper cup with tap water. Then you march upstairs, straight to Mituna's room so you can quickly give him his medicine.

You open the door and smile at what you see. Your baby boy, who's not really a baby but c'mon let a man dream, is curled up on top of that Cronus kid and soundly sleeping. Every now and then he'll twitch, which is just one of the effects of his syndrome, but it's still kind of cute. The Cronus kid has an arm draped over your son protectively as he snores in his sleep, which makes you snort with laughter. The Captor's might drool, which Tuna was doing on Cronus' shirt as we speak, but they don't snore.

You tap on the door politely, pretending as if you weren't just staring at these boys as they slept, but Cronus is the only one to wake. He does so with a jolt, and you quickly note how frightened he looks. Although, he isn't aware of your presence, so why would he be scared? His eyes dart around the room as if he were on drugs or something before settling on Mituna. He seems to calm down once he sees your son and smiles at his sleeping form, then looks up at the doorway and visibly tenses up.

He taps on Mituna's shoulder, to which your son yawns cutely and wakes up. He looks at Cronus and gives him a welcoming hug, then kisses his cheek and walks over to you.

"Morning Dad!" he greets, his hand shooting forward and narrowly missing your cheek. Then you remember how urgent it is to give him his pills so his spasms don't act up. You hand him the medicine and water which he gladly downs. You ruffle his hair and take the used cup from him, watching the Cronus kid out of the corner of your eye. He notices and resumes looking petrified.

"Good morning son. I cooked eggs if you two would like some: they're down in the kitchen," you inform them. Both boys nod and you take your leave: time to wake up Sollux. You exit the room, tossing the cup in the bathroom when you reach Sollux's door. You open said door and you're about to knock politely like you did before when you notice TWO people in Sollux's bed, not just one.

The other boy is wrapped around your son and looks exactly like that one kid who'd walked Sollux home. The things that worry you are a) the other kid doesn't appear to be wearing a shirt and b) your son's shirt is unbuttoned from the chest up. Assuming the worst, you bang your fist against the door and force the boys out of their stupor. They both look around frantically before their eyes focus on you, widening in horror. The mystery boy looks down at his ensamble, throwing the covers off and standing only to reveal that he was dressed in nothing more than boxer briefs. You see that Sollux is actually fully dresses, much to your relief, but why was that other kid almost naked?

"I swwear to god wwe didn't do nothin'!" the mystery boy stutters, pulling on his clothes and hopping around like an idiot, "I just don't evver sleep wwith anythin' more than boxers! I'm so damn sorry 'bout this!"

Sollux sits up and groans, turning towards you and rubbing his temples.

"Hey Dad, thith ith Eridan. He'th the kid that walked me home," Sollux explains casually, albeit with an agitated tone. You sigh and make the connection quickly enough.

"The one who's dad beats him?" you ask just to make sure, but the bruises all over Eridan's body are proof enough. You suddenly feel bad for the kid, but you're still upset about the situation you found him it.

"Yeth, that one. I didn't want him to go home cauthe hith dad and brother were there," he adds, standing up and approaching you real slow like. The Eridan boy tugs his skinny jeans on and adds a quick, "I told you Cronus isn't bad!"

Then you make yet ANOTHER connection. Not only are both of your sons dating guys, but the guys are fucking brothers. Not to mention, it seemed that neither boy in this room was aware of Cronus being in the next room. Until Cronus comes up to you in the doorway, that is.

"Ay chief I just vwanted to thank you…," he trails off, and you're pretty sure you know why. Eridan is staring at the boy behind you, and when you look, you see that Cronus is staring right back.

"There are eggs in the kitchen," you repeat before closing the bedroom door, the door leading to the hallway, and marching back downstairs. You just aren't even gonna be a part of this fiasco, it's just too damn early for this shit. Luckily, Sollux is a willing participant of this fiasco. Let's be him then, shall we?

**You are now Sollux.**

This entire morning is complete and utter bullshit. Not only did your dad walk in on you and Eridan in a compromising situation, or at least a situation that LOOKED compromising, but lo and behold, Cronus is here too! This is just fucking fantastic.

"You fuckin' told your dad about our dad beatin' us!?"

Oh ya, there's that to. You probably weren't supposed to make your dad aware of that fact, and you're pretty sure that Eridan is pissed off at you for spilling the beans. Oh great! There's Mituna, right behind Cronus, so now HE knows that the head of the Ampora household is abusive! This is just absolutely wonderful, go you, you've done an excellent job of fucking things up.

"Vwhat the fuck Eridan! You told him about our dad!?" Cronus shouts at Eridan, marching towards him and probably planning to hit him. Luckily Mituna stops him with just a simple sentence.

"You mean your dad… Hitth you? I don't get it, aren't dadth thuppothed to be nice, like our dad?" he asks with genuine interest, not at all grasping the full extent of this moment. Apparently, Cronus doesn't give a shit if Mituna understands or not and forgets about Eridan completely, instead turning around and charging at your brother. You stand up, ready to get in between them if need be, but Cronus doesn't strike Mituna like the majority had expected. Instead he HUGS him and buries his face in Tuna's hair.

"Not all a' us have such nice dads sport," he explains, and you could've sworn you'd heard a choked back sob somewhere in there. Was Cronus crying? Now beside you, Eridan hits the back of your head and gives you a glare that would rival Medusa. You gulp and try to look away, but his gaze is holding yours and you kind of feel guilty about this whole thing. You think he's about to say something else when you hear yelling coming from downstairs. One of the voices is your dads, but you can't quite place the second.

You do notice both Cronus and Eridan tense up though, and you figure that this isn't good. Cronus tugs at Mituna and urges him to the other side of the room as the four of you hear stomping up the stairs and even more yelling. Eridan crawls onto the mattress and cowers behind you, hands gripping your shoulders painfully as he stares at the door.

The door to the hallway is slammed open, and something inside of you tells you that you should be afraid: nay, you should be VERY afraid. Then the door to your bedroom opens and you're all staring at a man who looks very much like Eridan and Cronus, only scarier. Then the realization hits you: Mr. Ampora was in your house, and he looked absolutely pissed.

**Dun dun DUNNNNNNN!**


	15. 2hiit Hiit2 the Whiirliing Deviice

**You are now Simon.**

_You walk downstairs and leave behind your sons and their respective partners. You're far too old to deal with this sort of nonsense, so it's best that you leave them to their own devices. You here some distant yelling from upstairs, but nothing that you think you should concern yourself with. You decide to just relax and maybe watch some TV, so you plop yourself down on the couch and turn the damned thing on. It's currently on some news station which, ordinarily you wouldn't have an issue with, but you're more in the mood for a thriller. Remote in hand, you flip through the channels at a leisurely pace, providing each show with an opportunity to present its case._

_Unfortunately, before you can decide on what to watch, there's a knock on your front door. You groan, because honestly, you just want to relax with some TV, but it's not like you can pretend to be out and about. For one, your car is in the driveway, not to mention the shouting of at least two adolescent males in Sollux's room. You remove yourself from the comfort of your couch and walk to the front door, not even bothering to take a peek at who is outside. It was probably just some kid selling some crap that you'd buy from them strictly because you were a good person. You prepare and smile and swing the door open, only it isn't some kid, it's a grown ass man._

_The first things you notice are the dual scars on his face. They appear to be fresh, only scabbing over the slightest, and you're certain that if you were to pick at them, although you can't for the life of you even come up with a reason for why you would, they would certainly bleed. Other than those rather ghastly marks, he seems to be a respectable man. He's wearing a plain white t-shirt with a completely unbuttoned dress shirt over it. Complementing the ensemble is a casual pair of worn jeans and some black sneakers. He seems a little worse for the wear based of off his body language, but overall he looks dignified. _

"_Sorry ta bother ya, but I been lookin' all along the coast for my two boys. You wouldn't happen to know where they run off too, would ya?" he asks, and the gears in your head begin to turn. Beneath those scars, his facial features resemble those of two boys on the second floor of your house, and you chastise yourself for not recognizing it sooner. He must be their father, and he was looking for them. Ordinarily, you'd have invited him into your home and informed him of his sons' whereabouts, but then you remember what Sollux told you about the beatings. You begin to rethink any sort of kind approach._

"_I can't say I have, but I'd be more than happy to tell you when I-"_

_You were so damn close. All you were going to do was lie and tell him his sons weren't here, but those little idiots just HAD to raise their voices again. The man if front of you furrows his brow, but he doesn't appear to be mad at YOU per say. Instead, he just seems… Annoyed? He grunts and pushes past you, into the house and towards you stairs from wince the sounds came. You close the door quickly and hustle to walk behind him, ready and willing to step between him and your sons. Maybe, perhaps, you'd protect those other boys too?_

_By the time you reach the top of the stairs, he's standing in the doorway of Sollux's room and FUMING. I'm thinking we should just be somebody else and end this little flashback. Ya, that's what we're gonna do._

**You are now Mituna.**

You don't recognize the man in the doorway, but he looks kind of scary. Some of his features resemble Cronus', only they don't look NEARLY as endearing on this guy as they do on Cronus. You cock your head to the side and stare at him, trying to remember if you've ever seen him before. Again, you don't think you have, but you have a tendency to NOT remember things.

"Boys, we're going home _now_," he says, and you guess he's talking to Cronus and Eridan? There was no way he could be addressing you or Sollux, seeing as you have NO CLUE who this guy is. You instinctually glance over at Cronus, who's tensing up for some odd reason. You think it's because of this strange man's presence, but it's all just speculation.

"Wwe're NOT goin' anywwhere wwith you," Eridan says from behind you, but there's something unsteady about his voice. Your eyes haven't left Cronus', and you notice that he face palms in reaction to what Eridan said. You're getting pretty sick and tired of not knowing stuff, so you figure you should get to the bottom of things.

"Hey fishdick," you start, obviously addressing Cronus, "why the fuck ith everyone being tho weird?"

He doesn't answer, but there's something different about his eyes when he looks at you. He looks sad, but his eyes seem to pulse with what could only be described as pity, but why would he pity you? It's not like anything bad was happening to you, right? Because of this, you persist.

"Theriouthly, I don't get why everyone ith being tho thilent," you continue, hoping for a verbal response this time. Thankfully, your brother is kind enough to provide you with a substantial explanation.

"Don't worry about it Tuna. All that'th happening ith that ED'th abuthive dad ith here to bring them home and beat them thome more, but we aren't gonna let that happen, tho he can jutht shove it back up his athhole and fuck off."

You wonder if you should be worried, but your brother DID say if wouldn't happen, and you trust him enough to believe that. The man in the doorway seems to get even more upset by that comment though, and walks into the room, right past you and Cronus and going straight for your brother. You turn to see what's happening, and the moment you do you see his knuckles connect with Sollux's face. This reminds you of the times he'd stick up for you, and other kids would hurt him for it. You never did like it, so here was your chance to finally stick up for HIM!

"Leave my brother alone you ancient creep!" you interject, but then you feel Cronus' hand covering your mouth. You grow irritated with the boy and bite his finger, to which he mumbles an expletive and pulls away to shake his hand in the air as a means of alleviating some of the pain. You take this opportunity to approach the larger man, who has been gaping at you ever since you said something. You glance at your brothers form on the ground one more time before deciding that this is something you NEED to do.

You pour as much strength as you can into this one punch, successfully socking him right in the jaw. He stumbles backwards a little and groans, but there isn't much else of a reaction. This sort of worries you because you're sure he's going to hit you back, but then you dad appears behind you and places his hands protectively on your shoulders. Cronus walks over to you and kisses your cheek oddly enough, before repeating your actions and punching the strange man. He does a little more damage, making the man stumble make much further. By now, Sollux is being lifted up by a frightened Eridan, but you can't find it in you to pay attention to that for long because you find your attention focusing on a deadly looking blade in the stranger's hand.

Said stranger lunges forward and digs the knife into Cronus stomach, to which the comforting touch of your father leaves you. He sails forward and takes control of the situation, hitting the stranger and winning as far as damage goes. The man falls to the ground, but your dad is resilient. You see Eridan doing something on his phone and talking to someone on the other end, and then you feel the sudden urge to help Cronus. You really care about him, a lot, and you don't like him bleeding.

While your dad gets on top of the stranger and pounds his fists relentlessly into his face, you take off your shirt and do something your dad taught you a while back. You wrap the article of clothing around Cronus' waist, applying pressure on the spot that was bleeding. You tie the ends together and hope for the best, softly kissing Cronus' lips and bringing him in an embrace. After a few more minutes of you holding Cronus, Eridan hanging up and tending to Sollux, and Dad beating the shit out of this stranger, you hear sirens outside and the spot by the window is flooded with red and blue lights. You don't particularly like the sound, so you abandon hugging Cronus and instead plug his ears for him. You don't want him to have to hear them.

Your dad crawls off of the strange man and pulls all four of you into a large hug, which you think is sort of weird, but it's ok because you love all these people AND you love hugs: double win!

Before you know it, three more men enter Sollux's room and grab your dad, handcuffs at the ready as the unoccupied man walks up to the injured one. Your dad bows his head in defeat you think, which makes no sense because he so obviously won.

"Wwait officer, he ain't the guy! He wwas protectin' us from our dad, the one on the floor there," Eridan says, and you decide you couldn't have explained it better yourself. Although, why was he explaining that to these strangers who had NO business being here? Perhaps they were the people he'd been talking to on the phone? Cronus wraps his arms around you and pulls you with him, following all of the people out of the room and outside. Even the stranger who'd gotten beaten up was down here! They were even putting him in the back of one of the vehicles with the annoying noises. Ugh, why did there have to be two of them?

Cronus motions for you to follow him to your dads van, which you do compliantly. You, Dad, Sollux, Cronus, and Eridan all pile into the vehicle, but nobody says a word. You sense the tension and keep quiet, leaning into Cronus while your dad follows those two loud vehicles to a large, menacing building that read Brunswick Police Department.

The cars all come to a stop in their respective parking places and once everyone piles put of the van, you follow their actions. Into the building you go!

**You are now Sollux.**

You are scared shitless right now. Not only are you at a police station, but the sudden realization that Cronus and Eridan might be out of your life forever is seriously crippling you. Whether you'd admit to it or not, you wouldn't JUST miss Eridan. Cronus was part of the equation too, and you aren't sure if you can deal with this right now. You're like a zombie as you walk into the building, completely relying on Eridan to walk because you just can't do this.

"Pleathe juth don't put them in fothter care," you beg one of the officers. He looks at your sympathetically, but doesn't answer. Ordinarily you'd be pissed off, but right now you just don't have it in you. You all make yourselves comfortable in chairs specifically for the people who'd be in questioning. One by one you all go into the room to speak with an officer, and he just called your name. You're scared, and above all, you really don't want to leave Eridan's side right now, but you sigh and accompany him anyway.

You sit at a table across from some burly cop, and you look at him with indifference. He doesn't even offer you any sympathy: he just gets straight down to business. Fine, you don't need this pity party anyway.

"Alright son. Basically, I just need you to tell me what happened tonight. Do you think you can do that?" he asks, and it makes you hate him. You aren't a fucking infant, you don't need to be talked down to. You don't even dignify him with a verbal response, opting to instead cross your arms and nod. He mirrors your behavior and asks you to begin.

"Well, almotht right after I woke up, their dad came into the room and reigned fucking hell on everyon. Firtht he hit me, then Tuna hitth him, then CRONUTH hith him, then he fucking thtabbed Cronuth, and then my dad kicked ath. That'th about it," you tell him with a frown, practically dying to go back to Eridan. He nods and murmurs something so himself while writing something unimportant.

"Pleathe jutht don't thend them away," you plead when things remain quiet for a while, "Can't we take them in or thomething? There hath to be thomething elthe we can do becauthe me and Mituna… We can't lothe them."

The officer smiles at you and sets his writing stuff on the table.

"You dad did prove he was capable of protecting them, but that decision would be for you dad to make. Not only that, but if we can figure out who their mother is and SHE wants them, chances are they'd end up with her."

That'th not fair!" you shout, standing up and slamming your hands on the table, "WE actually care about them, and where the fuck hath their mom been!? NO WHERE! She jutht let their dad FUCKING BEAT THEM!"

The officer clears his throat and reaches under the table. Next thing you know, an officer is walking in the room with a pair of handcuffs and placing them on you. You shout a series of expletives and do your best to resist, but let's face it: he's a cop. The burly man thanks the other officer as he pulls you out of the room and forces you into your seat by Eridan. He sits in a seat across from you and monitors all of you, which pisses you off to know end. You swivel your body to look at Dad, who's sitting on your left.

"Dad, we can't let them thend ED or CN away," you whisper when he looks into your eyes. You feel Eridan squeeze your hand comfortingly on your right and it only makes you argue further, "Me and Tuna love them and they don't detherve to move jutht becauthe their dad wath a dick."

Your dad nods forlornly and looks away, staring at the wall across from him blankly. You turn back to Eridan and snuggle into him to the best of your abilities. The hand cuffs are actually starting to hurt, and all you want is to get out of here and go home with ED and CN. Then your dad answers you, without even having the decency to look at you, but his response completely makes up for it.

"When I take them in, you and Mituna will be in one room, Eridan and Cronus will be in another. I do NOT want to be woken up by a creaking bed or lisped moan."

**Oh heavens, you were all right. I mean, I knew the ending sucked, but I figured I should just end it because of school and all. Regardless, I won't be ending it anymore! Not until I find a reasonable stopping point, that is. Thinking about including how things go down in court, and maybe I'll make them find mommy Ampora. Once again, it ain't over. Besides, I'd miss writing this TuT**


	16. Court ii2 Now iin 2e22iion

**You are now Eridan.**

"This is the case of Meenah Peixes vs. Simon Captor. This court is now in session, all rise for Judge Marrian!"

Everyone is the courtroom follows the bailiffs orders, standing out of respect for their judge. Said judge enters the room with an elegant demeanor, sashaying with her robes as she takes her seat behind a podium.

"You may be seated," she says, allowing everyone to resume sitting. You flop down in the chair designated for you, seeing as you'd be forced to participate in this idiotic thing. A day after the questioning at the police station, they found your mother. Her name was Meenah Peixes and apparently she wanted custody of you guys. You kind of think this is bullshit, considering she never made any attempt to be part of your lives before today. The worst part was she lived seven hours away from your old house, meaning you wouldn't be able to see Sollux anymore.

"Mr. Sollux, you have been charged with attempted kidnapping of both Eridan Ampora and Cronus Ampora. How do you plead?" she asks coolly, and all you want to do is rip off Meenah's smug fucking face. She was currently accusing Simon of kidnapping you two, which was absolutely preposterous! He saved you and tried adopting you, how the fuck did that constitute as kidnapping of any sort?

"Not guilty, your honor," he replied with a level tone, fully aware that if he were to act out, that could be interpreted as guilt. The judge nods and turns to Meenah, who's just chilling with her lawyer being a shitty person.

"Prosecution, you may begin your opening statement," Judge Marrian says, hoping to close this case within ten minutes. She had plenty of other issues to attend to.

Meenah's lawyer nods respectfully and stacks some papers, very official looking. She clears her throat and looks straight into the judges eyes, not paying attention to anyone else in the courtroom.

"Judge Marrian, if I may. On the night before Mr. Ampora's violent acts, both Ampora children were located inside of the Captor household without their parents' consent. Furthermore, when the incident took place, Mr. Captor stepped in and took violent actions to ensure the children wouldn't be taken from him. The woman I represent, Ms. Peixes, is their mother and deserves to be their caretaker. Not some kidnapper," she concluded, to which Simon's lawyer, Mrs. Pyrope, slammed her hands on the table.

"Objection!" she shouted, "This woman has been absent from their lives ever since they were born. How does that give her any right to even call them hers? My client stuck up for them in a violent situation, only taking action when things became too heated! If anyone deserves these children, it's him!"

Judge Marrian banged her gavel against the podium and glared at Mrs. Pyrope, upset with her interruption. You groan because you're sure that that little outburst is going to ruin the whole damn case.

"For the sake of saving time, prosecution, you may call your first witness," her honor says, clearly agitated. Meenah's lawyer nods and stands up, turning towards you and the rest of the onlookers. You shift closer to Sollux's side, wishing Cro were here. After questioning, Cro was sent to the hospital because of his wound and wouldn't be out until later today: lucky bastard.

"I call Eridan Ampora to the stand," she says, and you groan because go fucking figure. You knew you'd be called eventually, but why now? Did they actually think that you'd help them win? You walk to the stand and swear on some stupid bible produced from the bailiff. Then Meenah's lawyer approaches you casually, as if this case WON'T decide how the rest of your life goes.

"Mr. Ampora, is it true that you were at the Captor house without your father knowing?"

"Yes, but-"

"And is it true that violence broke out under Simon's watch?"

"Wwell ya and-"

"So is it safe to assume-"

"Ugh shut up wwould ya? Simon ain't a bad guy, he fuckin' savved us you bitch!"

Astonished bystanders gasped by this outburst, and even Judge Marrian herself was ruffled by it. Meenah's lawyer brought a hand to her chest in surprise, but nobody silences you, so you just keep talking.

"This Meenah chick hasn't evven been in my life until today, but Simon protected us. He beat up our dad, wwho'd been beatin' US for as long as I can remember, and is still wwillin' to take us in evven though wwe'vve done nothin' but get his ass in court. It's MY life you're all fuckin' wwith, and it's Cro's life your fuckin' wwith, so don't wwe got a say in this? I wwanna livve with the only family wwho evver gavve a damn about me, and I knoww Cro wwould say the same if he could, so fuck you Meenah, and fuck you evveryone wwho wwants me to livve with her!"

Judge Marrian bangs her gavel for the second time since the court was in session, and orders everyone to be quiet. She turns to you, but doesn't look all that upset surprisingly.

"Young man, the way you addressed the court is punishable by law, but I suppose that can't be blamed solely on you. This is a tough decision to make, and an even tougher situation for you to be in, so I can understand why you'd be upset, but that doesn't mean you can make an outburst like THAT in court. Regardless, I have decided to rule in your favor. All charges against Simon Captor will be dismissed, and the court finds him not guilty. This means he is also given custody of the two boys, if he's still wanting that…"

All eyes are glued to Simon now, who can only manage to nod his head in response. Everyone in the courtroom is thoroughly shocked by how things have gone down, hell, even you're a bit shocked yourself.

"Then I hereby declare this court session over. You are all dismissed."

Judge Marrian gets up and watches as everyone exits the courtroom. You exit the podium and run over to Sollux, wrapping him in your arms and weeping on his shoulder. You let go of him and hug Mituna, who was standing behind him, picking him off the ground and twirling him in the air. He says 'weeeee' while you do, and it only amplifies the tears of happiness flowing down your face. You set him back down and turn to face Simon, the man who saved you even though he barely knew you.

All he had to do was sign some papers and you'd be his son, so you figure you might as well act the part. You rush over to him and jump, embracing him tightly as your feet dangle off the ground. He stumbles backwards and laughs while you murmur a million thanks. The door to the court room swivels open and all three of you look to see Cronus, smirking triumphantly and instinctively holding his stomach.

"Cro, wwe did it! Wwe get to livve wwith the Captor's!" you cheer, still holding onto Simon. You drop down and hug your brother, figuring you shouldn't leave him out of the embrace party you're having. He chuckles and hugs you back, hugging Simon and Sollux afterwards. Then he walks behind Tuna and buries his face in the crook of the kids neck, kissing him until he squeals with joy. Then he lifts him up bridal style and kisses his nose, turning to Simon with a broad smile.

"Vwell, thanks chief, er, dad?" he says, wondering how he should refer to Simon now that he was under his care.

"Simon is fine," he says, grinning at the teen. Cronus nods and looks back at Tuna with adoration, kissing his lips and mumbling at least a hundred 'I love you's. Sollux snorts beside you, and you grin because you just had an amazing idea. You copy Cro and scoop Sol into your arms, to which to flails around like an idiot. Then you kiss his lips softly, pulling away when he stays unmoving in your arms.

"I fuckin' lovve ya Sol," you finally admit, and your confidence sky-rockets when you see his blush. He frowns and punches your chest, making you drop him on his tush. He curses and stands back up, kisses your cheek and says, "I gueth I love you too athhole."

Simon just bows his head and laughs at his son's behavior, putting an arm around Sollux and guiding him out of the court room. The rest of you follow with goofy grins, holding onto each other for dear life. You lace your fingers with Sollux's and turn to look behind you, only to see Cronus still carrying Tuna like a bride. You grin and lean closer to Sollux because things just couldn't get better even if they tried.

"I was serious yesterday when I said no fucking," Simon says, to which the four of you laugh. Simon laughs too, but then his face gets super stoic and it sort of spooks you a little. Then he speaks again and semi-nervousness settles in where joy was.

"No I mean it: no sex, like ever."

**Alright THIS is the end. I'll include an epilogue soon, thanks for reading, hope this ending isn't as shitty as the last one I attempted. HUGS!**


	17. Le Epiilogue (2ollux'2 UN2hiitty End)

**You are now Sollux.**

You've been living with these insufferable douchebags for the past year and you've gotta admit: you love them, but they're complete assholes. For one, it's like they practically live in the damn bathroom. Now every time you have to piss or shower, you're forced to go all the way downstairs. Well, unless it's just Eridan in the bathroom. Then you just strip and turn the shower on so your dad doesn't know about the sloppy make outs and oral. Even though it's been a year, you and Eridan haven't done anything too intimate. Just some hand-jobs here, plenty of blow-jobs, and only shit he actually gave you a rim-job once. Now THAT was fucking heaven! Like, who even thought something like that could feel so good?

As far as Tuna and Cronus go, let's just say there is NO modesty there at all. The two of them parade around in each other's boxers during breakfast and give little hints to their sexual relations. It's extremely fucking sickening, especially when you're trying to eat some damn cheerios. So much for not having sex, right? I think they listened to that rule for a month or two before they just went at it like a couple of dogs in heat. Do dogs even go in heat? Eh, who cares, they do now.

You did wind up finishing that game for you and Karkat. He loved it, even if he won't admit to it. Not only that, but he actually visited about two months ago! Him and Eridan instantly became friends and just kept gossiping about complete bullshit, while Kankri, Karkat's brother who was stuck coming along, just discussed politics and major events that struck him as 'triggering' with you. Needless to say, you're happy THAT'S over.

School hadn't been as bad as you originally thought. You made a few new friends, like this one girl named Lumius Koontz. Man, SHE was fucking awesome, and she's pretty much your best friend now. Turns out she's Cronus' and Eridan's cousin too, and you were very pleased with the baby bath time pictures she gave you. She even had some of Cronus to give to Mituna, who just laughed about it for weeks. Hell, he's STILL bringing it up! There was also this kid named Gamzee Makara who was almost ALWAYS high and turned out to be Kurloz's brother, but you didn't really mind the drugs because he was a nice guy. Turns out when their parents got divorced, he'd moved down here. Through him you met his boyfriend, a wheelchair bound kid named Tavros Nitram. He was a decent guy, albeit a bit shy, and he was a great conversationalist when he got on about something he enjoyed.

Then you'd met three friends of Lumius': Phadra Ellist, her older sister, Troist Avents, Phaedra's best friend, Bovina Gretin, Phaedra's fuck buddy, Abrosa Deists, her younger sister, and Lucend Tavius, Abrosa's boyfriend. They were an odd group, and a bit secluded, but once you got close to them they'd do anything for you. Even die, like no joke. They were kind people, but Lumius had always been your favorite. She was just so nice!

Then there was Vriska Serket and her girlfriend Kanaya Maryam. The former was a complete bitch, but she had her good moments and she was fun to compete with. The latter was just the opposite, although you discovered she had a bit of a dark side when it came to controlling her girlfriend. They were both into some pretty… Violent, kinks. Let's just keep it at that. The last two were a couple who'd known each other forever. Nepeta Lejion, who was also Gamzee's cousin, was a fun cat-loving girl who always knew how to make someone's day. Equius Zahhak, her boyfriend, was an extremely tough guy with slight insecurity issues who relied on both Phaedra, whom he actually hated, and Nepeta despite his STRENGTH. He was a gentleman though and an excellent mechanic who was fantastic to converse with.

All in all, things weren't so bad. Back to Michigan, Karkat got himself some new friends too. He wound up dating some guy named Dave and became friends with his sister, Rose, and her two friends, John and Jade, who were related to each other. Then there was his longtime friend Terezi who teased him about everything. You two weren't all that close, but you still remembered her: fun gal. You were happy for him, and you manage to keep in touch even after his visit.

Your dad had gotten a raise and was doing ever better for the five of you, which was amazing because he had four fucking kids to take care of. Money was sort of a necessity. He'd remained lenient with curfews and junk even after you got friends, which was great because you kind of enjoy spending time with them. Matter of fact, that's what you're about to do in a few minutes. The four of you are waiting outside for Ayexis Ellist, Phadra's older brother, to pick you guys up in his truck. All the people you mentioned earlier plus Meulin, Rufioh, Horuss, Porrim, Jezbel (Troist's sister in-law), Klayen (Lumius' step-cousin (nice gal)), and Aranea, were going to hang out at Phadra's because holy shit is she loaded. Her house is one of the only ones that can comfortably house all of you guys at once, so it's super ideal. That, and her dad is a total badass.

You hear a horn and turn to look at the pickup truck still running and positioned right outside your beach house. The four of you climb into the back and hit the truck when you're ready to go, then Ayexis drives away. You grin as Eridan curls up in your lap, and you drape an arm over his shoulder. Your name is Sollux Captor, and you are a bi-polar nerd with a lisp. You're also, as Gamzee would say, one of the luckiest motherfuckers alive.

**And now it's officially over. Thanks again!**


End file.
